Master of Defense - Harry Travels
by Jfoodsama
Summary: A sudden discovery of how the Hallows actually work starts a chain of events that will lead the first Dimensional Traveler to start his journey. Harry will fall in the depths of arcane magicks and will have to save his counterparts from the pain and suffering he himself felt throughout his life! Professor!Harry Adventurer!Harry
1. Chapter 1 The Trip

**MoD - Master of Defense**

Ch.1

Harry James Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Man-Who-Won, Chosen One and all that tripe was perfectly happy living his life as it was, thank you very much!

He had won the war, defeated Tom Riddle, got the girl and the job, his friends were finally together and had finally stopped their sexually repressed sniping that had been going on since third year… well, at least they toned it down a bit.

The world wasn't perfect, there were still bigots, yes, and many other criminals who took advantage of the chaos at the end of the war to slip away, but it was more or less peaceful! He and Ginny were together!

It all crashed down on his twenty-fifth birthday, when Hermione noticed a little detail while going thorough the photo album she had compiled for him for his twenty-third.

He hadn't changed in a couple of years. Not only hadn't his hair, height or face changed, his weight was exactly the same. He hadn't aged a day for two years.

Harry should have known that it was too good to last, typical Potter luck.

Still, they didn't panic, for the love of Merlin, they went through much worse things.

It was Ron who found the answer, it took him only a couple of minutes.

"Mate, Harry, do you remember the day after the Battle of Hogwarts, when we took the Hallows and hid them, and they glowed for a bit?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course, we were afraid it would affect me somehow" Harry answered, thinking back at the days after the Battle of Hogwarts " but we know that nothing changed, apart from me having fewer problems with magic" he reminisced, flopping on a chair.

Hermione continued cautiously, having understood where Ron was going " We thought that was the horcrux being removed, it was perfectly normal, even Professor Dumbledore's portrait agreed that it could have taken a toll on Harry's magic"

Ron shook his head " I just remembered something that Aunt Muriel explained to us, when she was still trying to make a Prewett out of us" he explained with a laugh in his voice, trying to remember the exact words "It was something like 'the magical majority is not something always fixed, it depends on the bloodline and case too, but it is when the body adapts completely to the magic coursing through it and may have a few strange effects' more or less" he said, not noticing the pallor slowly overcoming Hermione's face.

Harry licked his lips, cursing his luck again, and took a sip of butterbeer, trying to calm his furiously beating heart.  
" Like what?" he asked, hoping against hope.

"I remember something about Uncle Lancelot, the one who worked at St. Mungo's; I think he had to change his wand as it wasn't working well for him during his first year as a Healer, something about an Erkling shooting him a dart when he was a fourth year and it having an effect later on, during in the magical maturity, as its foreign magic that should have killed him instead mixed with his" He recounted, scratching his head.

They let the silence lull them, each thinking about what that could mean.

A few minutes later, Ginny broke the calm, asking the question that was on the tip of everyone's tongue "So, what does that mean for Harry? What happens from now on?"

Hermione shook herself slightly and answered " I still don't think it is possible for him to be the actual Master of Death, but in the Department there are records of the Peverell brothers being necromancers of the highest order" she took a breath, steeling herself "and it is perfectly possible that the three artifacts were lending their powers while receiving a bit of the life energy of their wielder, especially if he or she died early, and bringing them together, having accepted death and having Peverell blood in you may have granted you an extremely long life" she replied, torn between the need for knowledge that characterized the Researcher Unspeakable and worry about her friend.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and on his face, shoulders slumping in defeat.

He thought back on the last few years, on the rebuilding effort, auror training, his first assignments, the time spent with his brother and sister in all but blood, Ron and Hermione, and his girlfriend Ginny.

Harry sighed again before regaining a bit of composure. He squared his shoulders and decided to take this new challenge on, like he did everything in his life.

" If that is how the Hallows works, does is mean that I'll live like Nicholas Flamel for a while? You did say they took only a bit out of the wielder." he argued, trying to understand his new condition.

"Oh Harry, I say that because otherwise we would have felt the constant stream of energy getting sucked out of us while using the cloak, but it doesn't mean that it will be a short time before you'll start moving in time again" Hermione explained.

"It's probably a similar mechanism to the diary horcrux" she said, more excitedly, getting into her role, oblivious to the discomfort her words caused to Ginny, who took Harry's hands in hers, squeezing it to gather some comfort.  
"If a sixteen years old with only five years of magical training could do it, it was probably a piece of cake for the might of the Peverells. It is, after all, known that they were the most powerful wizards of the XII century" she cleared her throat, before resuming her explanation as more and more clues started to paint a clear image in her head "it was probably a very good thing that you didn't destroy it in one hit, but in multiple ones, otherwise the life energy sucked out of Ginny would have probably dispersed in an explosion, or even just dissipated instead of slowly returning to ginny as the strongest one in the link in those moments, otherwise she could have been left as a cripple, or a squib, or even aged prematurely" she reported offhandedly, before noticing the trembling of her friend.

"Oh Ginny, I'm so sorry, you know how I am, I get excited and babble too much…" she panicked, before flunging herself at the redhead and hugging her tightly.

Harry and Ron exchanged a _look,_ silently passing understanding that only best mates who went through the hormonal years together know how to do.

Once the two girls got themselves in order, they resumed their position and Hermione started her lecture again " I think that the Hallows form a bond with their wielder, and throughout it they slowly absorb life energy, and at the moment of the death of the wielder they take everything that can! This is why the youngest brother is considered the wisest, because he made his in such a way that it wouldn't damage the family, unlike the other two".  
She stopped for a bit, taking a stray bit of parchment and a pen and started writing a few calculations. The other three busied themselves making tea and preparing a tray with crumpets and jams, with the unspoken understanding that it was best to leave Hermione to her Arithmancy.

After the break the smartest witch of her generation took a deep, fortifying breath and opened her mouth to report her findings, and Harry already felt a profound weariness, directly from his very soul, as if it already knew that it wouldn't like the results " I've made a few calculations, and considering a margin of +/- 10% the Hallows will give you a bit less than two thousand years to live, one thousand nine hundred and thirteen, exactly" she read, looking directly at Harry.

Hermione then gave a small smile, that would have looked completely out of place to anyone else, but to Harry it meant a small new hope, and with that rekindled flame he asked her, almost pleadingly " I sense a but" then corrected himself "Please tell me there is a but!"

Ginny and Ron leaned forward, still stunned by the sheer magnitude of the bomb just dropped, but willing to trust their bushy-haired friend.

"There are a couple of ways I can think of" Hermione started, leaning back on the sofa "the first one would be sacrificial rituals, the one to increase the virility, is one I can think of on the top of my head".

She shook her head seeing their disbelieving looks " Guys, do remember that magic is magic, it's a tool to be used carefully, but its not intrinsically good or evil"

Harry nodded his head, having experienced the many facets of magic in his years as an Auror.

"These kinds of rituals sacrifice a part of your living energy to obtain immediate benefits; the most obvious problem is the taint they leave on the soul" Hermione explained, noticing the disgusted looks and nodding in agreement with their assessment.

"There are obviously purifying rituals that you could undertake, but in the long term it would all take its toll on you" she continued, sipping her by now lukewarm tea.

When Harry made to speak she raised her hand, stopping any objections.

"I know you wouldn't do it Harry, I told you about it to be thorough. There is another method, and while it's still in the experimental stage I'm pretty sure that it is what you are looking for." Hermione calmly explained, taking a little bite of a crumpet to loosen the knot in her stomach.

"I can talk about this only because I'm the leader of the research group, and deem this situation to warrant it" She stated formally, resulting in a brief flash of magic, in acknowledgment of her decision.

"Since our fifth year, when we destroyed every time turner at the Department, the Unspeakables have been trying various new methods to replicate the effects.  
One of these ended up being a way to move across parallel dimensions."

She made eye contact with Harry, knowing that it was a crucial moment of his life and willing herself to give him all the help he might need.

"In the last few years we have made few breakthroughs, but we have noticed that in various dimensions time seems to warp and both the travel and the stay would have an ageing effect on the body." Hermione sipped her tea a bit more, to hydrate her parched throat.

"Normally travel between the dimensions is impractical and extremely difficult, as the traveler would age prematurely, possibly even arriving dead on the other side, and the few who could survive would be unable to return and report anything, so while the study of such dimensions is extremely fascinating, it never has fruited too much" she explained, noticing the understanding slowly dawning on Harry.

He smiled at her, having got her meaning "And while anyone else would be unable to survive and return, I have both years to squander and an anchor to use"

Then, thinking on it a bit more, he continued, this time more surely " And while I would still spend many years traveling around, I would still return here without too much time having passed, and while there I could even help the alternate versions of me!" he exclaimed, smiling brightly.

Ginny and Ron looked at each other and sighed, knowing that little could stop those two now that they had started, Hermione on the many things that Harry's travels could mean for her research and Harry on how many people he could save and how he would prevent any other him to experience what he had.

In the end it was decided that Harry would indeed travel around a bit, stopping in their original dimension after each leap to report and spend a bit of time with his friends and girlfriend to relax.

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All in all, it would take a few months still before everything was set up for him to travel.

It was with this thought in mind that Harry, feeling rather like what he thought Nicholas Flamel must have felt after destroying the Philosopher's Stone, started making sure all his affairs were in order.

He stopped at the DMLE Director's office, knocking on the door, before entering and greeting Gawain Robards, presenting him the papers signed by the Head Unspeakable and the Minister of Magic.

"Potter, what in the blazes has got in your brain to agree to help the DoM in a classified XXXX experiment?!" the graying man asked rather forcefully, projecting his worries.

Harry laughed slightly, shaking his head " It's something that only I can do boss".

Then he smirked " It won't even take too much; I'll probably only be away for a couple of years"

He then waved at the stunned Director and exited the office, moving swiftly through the office.

Once at the apparition point, having passed the check point, he twisted and, with a soft *snap* reappeared in the darkened alley nearby the Leaky Cauldron.

Inside the pub he waved at Tom, unmovable pillar of Diagon Alley's entrance, and at the Finch-Fletchley family dining at a table, and moved toward the back-side.

On a Tuesday morning, the Alley was more or less empty, save the few witches and wizards going to and from the apothecary and Gringotts.

He too steered towards the goblin-run bank, nodding to the guards outdoors and letting his eyes skim one the warning engraved in the marble, feeling the wards taking hold of him and examining him for ill intent.

Following the end of the war the goblins were more than ready to cut off his head and put it on a pike.  
Thankfully, they liked their gold more than their vengeance.

After careful negotiations, long explanations of how and why they had broke into Gringotts', the assurance from the Minister that they could seize the Lestrange Vault for themselves and a rather large fine for the three of them, that was mostly paid with the earnings gained from selling the Basilisk carcass, they were finally allowed normal service.

He had, years ago, that his approach with any goblin should be of polite indifference, however they may act.

He approached a free Teller, who sneered at him, as if seeing something rather unpleasant, but refrained from commenting.

Harry noted briefly his name, written on a badge and looked at him in the eyes, offering his key "Greetings Teller Spearguts. I need to access my vault to make a withdrawal and will afterwards need to have ten thousand galleons converted in pounds, dollars and euros"

Spearguts sneered a bit more, just to make sure the human understood his disgust and then looked at the key and nodded curtly, barking an order for a goblin nearby in Gobbledegock.

He then turned towards Harry and snarked at him " Bashbrains will take you. I will prepare the correct amount. Now disappear human!"

Harry allowed himself a brief smirk, having always found it funny how goblins always tried to give more threatening names to each other.

After the usual wild ride into the bowels of London, the cart stopped.

" Vault 84, Potter Family Vault" the little creature said in a nasal voice.

"Key" Bashbrains asked, motioning for Harry to stand aside.

After the usual security procedures he made a gesture and the wizard entered the former Black Family Vault, that he had converted in Potter.

He took the Mokeskin Pouch that Hermione had graciously expanded several times more than what was usually found in shops, and flicked his wand at a pile of gold, making it rapidly jump into the sack.

As a fourth of the vault disappeared, he swished his wand and the coins in midair clatters on the floor.

He then turned around and went back into the car.

After having retrieved the converted money from the snarky teller he exited the bank and walked towards the nearest apparition point.

Disapparating to the restructured Grimmauld Place, curtesy of Silley the house-elf, he tossed the pouch in the study and sealed it alongside the sturdy trunk he had prepared for his travels.

He then called Ginny, who was still resting after the rather heated session of sex they had during the night moved towards the toilet to freshen himself.

"Ginny love, you know that I would like to join you in lazying the whole day, but your mother will kill us if we don't hurry" he called loudly.

He then felt a small hand on his stomach, slowly moving down towards his navel and a hot breath near his ear " I rather think we have a bit more time to enjoy ourselves, don't you?" asked his girlfriend in a sultry tone.

He groaned a bit and decided to give in. Not like he didn't get anything out of it.

He had spent the last few days pampering the little redhead in every way possible, to reassure her that yes, he still loved her and yes, she could still make his head spin.

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Lunch at the Weasley's house was always a rowdy affair, full of babies screaming, excited chatter and loud discussions on Quidditch and how the Cannons would surely win the next match, and didn't you see, they lost the last one with only four hundred points of difference!

Harry moved towards the kitchen, hugging Mrs. Weasley and shaking Mr. Weasley's hand, offering him two bottle of Cabernet Franc Lavinia Maria 2003.

Arthur smiled in thanks, always one to enjoy a good wine, and motioned him to the table, where he hugged and slapped on the back the various members of the wider Weasley family.

As always, lunch was amazing, and he said so to Molly who smiled at him tremulously, and dabbed her eyes, asking the age-old question with a slightly different approach "Thank you, Harry dear, it's always a pleasure being appreciated, but you know that if you take this mission for those wackos at the DoM you will not eat anything decent for months. Do you truly have to?"

Everyone made faces all around the table, as this was a current topic in the last couple of months during the Sunday lunches.

"Mom, leave him alone, you know how Harry is. Once he is fixed on something, he will not leave it alone!" Somewhat surprisingly Percy said, conveying everyone's sentiment about the Weasley's matron tentatives to make Harry stay and not undertake the mysterious mission for the Unspeakables.

Obviously both his condition and his future travel weren't common knowledge; already that two more people (Ginny and Ron) knew of it was straining the limits!

Harry smiled apologetically at Molly, making her slump in defeat " I'm sorry , but I'm going to take this mission. However, I promise to contact you all whenever I can"

Molly perked up a bit, like others around the table, that had feared a complete black out of communications.

Ginny smiled sadly before shaking her head, knowing that there was little she could do to stop him, and that she should instead support him.

The pleasant heat of April's sun, together with the heaviness of the lunch left the in a pleasant heaviness, and only a quiet chatter remained.

After having regained his bearings Harry called Ginny and moved around the garden to say goodbye to everyone.

After a strong handshake with and a bone-bruising hug from Mrs. Weasley, they were both off with the floo toward Grimmauld.

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It was a small group that was to be found in the newest Chamber of the DoM, the Chamber of Travel.

Harry found himself listening for the umpteenth time to Hermione's listing of everything he should do and have done

"… and then, once you have ensured that it is indeed a sister dimension, and that you still have the cloak with you, that will act as a beacon for us to call you back, you should infiltrate the ministry with these papers" she babbled, shoving into his hands a stack of formal looking parchment, that he swiftly put into his Mokeskin pouch " and perform the simple Ritual of Naming that we talked about earlier, as you know that six hours is the limit before your reality starts to fade away if there are two identical people, and then go to Gringotts and open the new account"

Hermione then took a deep breath and smiled at him " after making sure to have implated the right memories in the right people, you'll be free to do what you want, making sure to note down every similarity and difference for us to study"

She the threw herself at him and hugged him for all that he was worth "Be careful Harry, we'll see you in a couple of months, or for you a decade"

She then moved, making space for Ron to manly embrace him, very manly, without any teary eye or nonsense like that.

Ginny just kissed his lips softly, having given her goodbyes the previous night.

Harry then motioned to the Unspeakable in grey robes, who waved his wand in a complex pattern alongside two others, making slowly appear a rift in the space in front of them.

They nodded at him and he took a deep breath, looking for the last time at his best friends in the world and his love and then walked with the head held high towards his next great adventure.

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 _ **TADAAAAAAAAAN!**_

 **weeeeell… That's the first chapter of my new fic.**

 **I freely admit being inspired by the Lone Traveler series. It's amazing and you should read it!**

 **Like you'll have read in the summary, it's about MoD Harry who has to travel around the realities and helps various people he knew from his original world.**

 **This time he will take the role of DADA teacher for the alternate Harry's second year and then on.**

 **The next chapter will mostly be about his arrival and the first two years where he travels around a bit to understand the new world.**

 **If there is any spelling or grammar error, please tell me and I'll correct it.**

 **If there is anything you notice isn't working in a space/continuity, please tell me.**

 **I hope you'll enjoy it!**

 **See ya next time**


	2. Chapter 2 Making a place for himself

**MoD- Master of Defense**

ch.2

Devon Carter was a good man, he spent his life in his farm near Northiam, where he took care of his animals and of his missus, Dana.

Sometimes he indulged a bit too much with his friends in the local pub, but never before had he hallucinated this way.

A shower of colors was dazzling the countryside, painting a kaleidoscope of reds and blues over the green hills.

He goggled at the spectacle, that slowly condescended in a lone figure, slowly falling a fracture hovering in the sky.

"Now tha' was peculiar" the farmer exclaimed, feeling rather dazed.

He approached the figure lying on the grass, that was slowly collecting itself.

Once he was near enough, Devon noticed that it was actually a person, and not an asteroid or some kind of sci-fi eldritch creature.

Standing over the newly identified young man, he curiously tilted his head, still under the effect of the good beers he drank at the pub.

"Oi lad!" he called " are ye alright?"

The young man turned his head so fast he swore he could hear it crack.

"Damn, now I'll have to take care of a mundane too" he sighed.

"Oi here now, no need ta call me boring eh" Devon replied, feeling rather scorned. After all, he was perfectly fine going back to Dana and have a little jump between the sheets.

The stranger drew himself to full height, standing at a slightly imposing 6'1" and drew a stick from his sleeve.

"For what is worth, I'm sorry to have disturbed you" he spoke apologetically.

Now Devon was starting to get annoyed and drew a breath to tell the lad exactly what he could do with his apologies but the other moved the stick at blinding speed, pointing it at him

"Obliviate"

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Harry apparated in the Forest of Dean with a near silent *snap*, starting immediately to cast various temporary wards and perimeter charms, completely isolating the piece of land nearby.

Once he was satisfied that anyone who managed to pass through his Notice-Me-Not and various compulsion-inducing wards would find a hard time breaking the protection without a full team of curse-breakers, he snapped his wand and silently emptied the clearing of leaves, rocks and dirt.

After checking thoroughly for anything that could interfere with the ritual, he took an obsidian knife out of the pouch strapped on his belt, and made a cut on his forearm, knowing for unwanted experience that it was the best place to draw blood from without doing damage.

At once, he flicked his wand and the freely running blood stopped mid-air and rearranged itself in various shapes on the ground, forming a circle around him.

 _Wunjo_ a stylised looking 'P', symbolizing positive energy, to give strength to the ritual and keep it from tainting him

 _Uruz_ an overturned 'V', meaning the birth of something new, a force of change, masculine energy, to give validity to the change

 _Sowilo_ , the copy of the lighting bolt scar he was so famous for, representing a higher form of joy, happiness and love, it signifies also the victory of the light against the dark, to resist death and disintegration

 _Inguz_ the clashing 'V's, room for personal growth and change, to aid the process

And finally, the blood coalesced in _Tiwaz,_ like an arrow pointing ahead, the symbol of success and willpower, to bind the runes together and finalizing the ritual.

" _Ego mihi nomen muto. Omnia mutantur."_

The air, thick with magic, pressed down on him, and he felt something fundamental in himself shift.

Released from the grasp of the ritual's magic, Harry crashed down panting, gulping air.

He collected himself, knowing that for the coming ten years, he wouldn't be Harry James Potter anymore, but Harrison Ulysses Fleamont.

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Harry moved swiftly and inconspicuously trough the Hall of Records, having silence his feet and wearing his Invisibility Cloak.

He surpassed the clerk witch, and moved through the aisles, finally stopping at the letter F.

The last member of the Fleamont family, Laurentia Fleamont, married Potter, and she had a little brother, Henry, with whom she lost contact during the fights in the continent in the XIX century against the uprising Italian War Mages.

Her son, named Henry after her brother, was also Harry's great-grandfather, who named his boy Fleamont Potter, to honor Laurentia's dying wish to have her family name continue.

Well, Harry was going to do exactly that. Adding a few files to the Fleamont Family dossier, thanks to a couple of charms the Unspeakables had taught him that should have been restricted.

Thay had made him swear not to teach them to anyone else and not to use them in their universe, so it wasn't really illegal of them, more like a grey area.

Still, he didn't think this reality's DoM's personnel would appreciate it, so he swiftly changed the death date of Henry Fleamont, adding a son and a grandson, both homeschooled in their family home in Wales, the latter, Harry's new father, he named Ulysses Fleamont.

And here Harry snickered a bit, thinking of the Greek mythological figure of the great traveler and feeling legitimated to use it as a middle name.

He then added himself to the family tree, whose file was already present, thanks to the ritual and the automatic adding process, and proved his relation to Henry Fleamont with a drop of blood.

Since he was actually the last one with the family's blood, the local Harry notwithstanding, his claim was readily accepted by the magic of the Hall.

Donning his Invisibility Cloak again, he exited the Hall and walked rapidly toward the Wizarding Examination Authority.

He slipped in a deserted corridor and put away his Cloak, then conjured a mirror and took a look at himself.

The ritual had made a few changes, thankfully easily erasable once back in his world with the Ritual of Resignation and that of Restitution.

Well, now his untameable Potter hair was a bit less all over the place, had taken a silky texture and was naturally slicked back, his eyes were a bit more aquamarine now instead of vibrant green and his bone structure was a bit more elegant.

All in all, he had changed a bit, but wasn't recognizable, a nice piece of meat, if he could day so himself.

Vanishing the mirror he straightened his spine and steeled himself for what he was going to do, chanting in his mind the Auror saying " morals are all well and good, but at the end of a mission someone will always lose something, and it better not be you"

Harry knocked on the door for the WEA office, recalling how open-air it was and how few people worked there.

A voice called from inside "Come in, Dorothy if you are still hung up on that A on your Charms NEWTs I have to remember you that…"

Madam Marchbanks trailed off, looking sharply at the new face. For a witch of one hundred and thirty-four, she was looking extremely sharp.

Harry took a look around, noting the five other workers, alongside Prof. Tofty, and silently cast the strongest locking and silencing charm he could.

After a moment of silence, where the ministry workers assessed the young man, and the old witch took a deep breath to ask him who the hell he was, since there weren't examinations scheduled, Harry whipped his wand with blinding speed and cast the wide area stunner

"Percello Totali"

A second later, after the bright light of the charm had ended, he alone was standing, with seven figures sprawled on the floor.

Harry turned towards the door and cast the Notice-Me-Not "Effugiat" and the perimeter charm "Cave Inimicum"

That done, he swiftly moved to the various cabinets which held the OWL and NEWT results of generations upon generations of magicals.

Once he arrived at the F compartment, he added the forged documents that his world's Griselda Marchbanks and Prof. Tofty had signed on request of the Unspeakables. A particularly intelligent move.

Both copies of his own OWLs and NEWTs, which highlighted an inquisitive mind with a great talent in practical magic and in the specific Defense against the Dark Arts, where he held the OWLs and NEWT record for his year in the ICW states.

Once done with his meddling he walked to the still downed examinators and, once again whipping his wand he started casting " Legilimens. Obliviate"

He implanted the pre-crafted memories of a younger version of his new identity taking the exams as a homeschooled child, and a few more nebulous ones of his 'parents', and himself walking around Diagon Alley, or stopping to say hello a couple of times when met by chance at the ministry or a general function.

He did so for the two heads and a couple more, limiting himself to confused memories of having heard of his new person for the remaining few. Once done he cast the monumentally complex obscuring charm to hide magical activity, thanking once again the esoteric selection of the Black family library " Cooperio Obstructis Magnus"

He grunted a bit at the mental strain that the charm caused, but managed to hold it until the end.

After he was sure to have done everything he could, he rennervated the workers and silently exited once they had started working again after a few moments of incomprehension.

Harry visited many of the Ministry offices, being sure to cover his tracks and destroy every evidence of any wrongdoing.

He even managed to get both Millicent Bagnold and Cornelius Fudge, one exiting Minister and the other in full political campaign.

The DMLE workers were a bit trickier, but he managed to implant memories of himself in a few, more weak-minded individuals.

Once he deemed his identity to be foolproof, Harry calmly walked to the apparition point and, with a quiet *snap* disapparated to Diagon Alley.

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Harry stretched completely, groaning at the pops and cracks that answered him, and fell back on his bed, before deciding for a shower and stumbling to the toilet. After he made sure to be presentable, he walked downstairs, waving at Tom the barman, one other of his 'victims' who nodded at him and headed to the kitchen before coming to him with a full, steaming, English Breakfast.

"Here lad, eat up. You seem a bit peaky today" the toothless man said, placing the plate and a mug full of coffee in front of him.

Harry grinned at him, knowing that the previous day exertions were indeed showing, and thanked him, throwing himself at the food.

Once fed, the young traveller started toward the Alley, passing the brick barrier and swiftly arrived at Gringotts, nodding to the bowing guards, he walked to a teller. Casually, it was Spearguts.

Harry had to restrain a grin, at the sight. Somehow, he managed to keep a straight face, and addressed the goblin "Greetings, Teller Spearguts. I need to open a new vault and make a deposit"

The little bugger's eyes glittered with greed and nodded at him, trying to conceal his delight. The banker passed him a form to compile, which he finished in a couple of minutes, after having read everything, even in small print of the small print.

He passed the parchments back to Spearguts, noticing how his eyes bugged a little at the request for a new family vault and at the amount of money he would deposit.

He had, previous to his departure, decided to take with himself a quarter of the Potter's Family Vault contents, meaning around G 320.000.

And while he knew that the goblins wouldn't rob him, his natural distrust of the race made him decide to deposit only G 200.000 and keep the remaining gold with himself, alongside with the converted currencies.

Still, it wasn't every day that someone deposited the equivalent of 1.160.000 pounds.

Once he had made sure that the galleons had been put in the new Fleamont Family Vault N. 314, he saluted Spearguts and exited Gringotts, entering Twilfitt and Tattling's shop.

He got noticed by Twilfitt herself who brightened once he explained that he would need a new wardrobe, since he would be going around the globe for a bit and would need to be ready for any occasion, be it the jungle or a Gran Gala.

The witch smiled contently and started taking out various clothes, using him as a living dummy, making him try anything from pajamas to dress robes, to quidditch clothing.

After two hours, that could have easily been the double without magic, he paid for the ridiculous amount of clothing.

Still, he considered alright, since he had implanted memories of previous visits in the minds of the two owners, the staff and a couple of customers.

Popping around Flourish & Botts first, where he noted that the books were more or less the same and therefore purchasing what he knew would be expected of him and a bit more, alongside a few self-refurbishing notebooks; He also bought a couple of books on Wizarding Administrations in Great Britain and the ICW, a rather dry but necessary read.

He visited Slugg & Jiggers, to stockpile his potion cabinet, which he could not take with himself as the inter-dimensional travel would have messed it all up, buying various restorative potions, pepper-ups, blood-replenishing, Skele-Gros and a few other individual ingredients, to make more questionable potions away from prying eyes.

His last visit was something he both dreaded and was looking for: Ollivanders.

Harry knew very well that once he started interacting with certain people, the fact that he had the same exact wand of the Boy-Who-Lived would be easily noticed and would do more than raise a few eyebrows.

Therefore, he regretfully locked up his loyal Phoenix feather and Holly wand in the depths of his traveling trunk, and decided that he had to buy a new one.

Thankfully, he knew how to make sure that the alternate of his own would not react, he simply had to stop any of his innate magic to react.  
A complex feat, but something he was certain he could do.

Another difficulty would be to modify Ollivander's memory to make him think that he had already sold him the new wand, and he was simply there to buy a new holster and polish.

Once he would have thought it impossible to even touch the mystical wand-maker, but history had thought him how even he was vulnerable from attacks, it sufficed looking at how Death Eaters kidnapped him at the beginning of the Second War.

He shook his head a bit and steeled himself, applying his minor ability at Occluding his mind to mask his thoughts.

The bell on the door chimed and a soft voice spoke from behind an aisle  
" I don't believe to have ever seen you, young man, and that is a very rare thing. Very rare indeed"

He looked as he remembered from his first visit, **an old man, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop (HP PS ch.6)**

Ollivander moved closer to Harry, scrutinizing him for a bit, before he spoke softly " Yes, yes I see you'll be a tricky customer. You'll be wanting a wand, I imagine"

Harry nodded, replying to the rhetoric question " Yes, unfortunately my own was destroyed in a training accident, a wild blasting curse, so here I am. I'm right-handed, by the way" he said, before realizing that he was talking to the tape measure, while the wand-maker was waltzing through the aisles, collecting long and thin boxes.

"As you must already know, no two wands are the same" the old man spoke, handing him the first wand, that didn't react at all " I only use Unicorn hairs, Dragon heartstrings and Phoenix feathers, as they are the purest cores in circulation, thought if anyone brought me Griffin or Nundu's parts I'm certain I could craft something. Well at least as experiments" he rambled, all the while handing Harry more and more wands, that had either very little or disastrous effects.

Ollivander's eyes shone brightly, showing his zealotry towards his craft and his excitement for a difficult customer.

" Don't worry young man, I'll find you a wand yet. 'Omnia tempus habent'!"

"Try this, Beechwood and dragon heartstrings. Flexible. Nine inches"

"No no! This one, give it a wave, ebony and phoenix feather, do try - No!"

"Mmm… I think I've got it, definitely not unicorn, probably phoenix, and likely dragon"

And finally "Give this one a try, eleven inches and three quarters, Wenge, heartstrings from the last Roman Black, I'm told it was hibernating in the Alps and they had to be in 20 to take it down, truly a force of nature!"

Harry, having gone through this process for the last hour or so, moved the wand lazily, but this time he felt a powerful rush of magic coursing through him, as if the wand had finally found someone worthy of wielding it.

Red and black sparks flew from the tip of the wand, bathing the shop in a reddish light.

Harry tensed, knowing that the moment to act was near, but that he couldn't be impatient. He knew that he would need to wait for Ollivander to tidy up and then to pay him before acting, otherwise the anti-thief charms would activate.

He bid his time, observing the reddish shades of the otherwise black wood of his new wand. The young wizard instinctively knew that it would serve him as well as his previous one.

" Well, I do believe that may be 15 galleons for the wand and another 5 for holster and polish" Harry nodded, knowing that there was a discount for a wand if the wielder was a Hogwarts student, and definitely wasn't.

He paid, nodded to Ollivander and made to move out, checking if there was anyone incoming.

Seeing that the Alley was empty as it was lunchtime, he struck fast and hard, entering the wand-maker mind and destroying any feeble attempt to stop him.

He then implanted the old memory, being careful to remove any other thought of his new wand from that day on, and then changed the dynamic of their newest encounter.

Once he was sure he had destroyed anything that could tip him off, he exited the old man mind with caution, not wanting to actually hurt him.

Ollivander shook his head a bit and then smiled his mysterious smile™, as if he knew great secrets that Harry could only hope to understand.

"Well Mr. Fleamont, I'm happy to see that you take good care of your wand, why it seems almost new!"

Harry smiled uneasily and nodded, bidding his goodbyes and exiting, walking slowly toward the Leaky Cauldron.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o..o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Harry landed gracefully, not for the first time grateful that Ginny had taken the time to teach him how to actually use Wizarding Transportations; Ron, the prat, had known all along and had laughed behind his back for years.

Unbidden, a smile crept on his face, thinking about his friends and girlfriend, but the distance didn't hurt, for he knew that they were still in his hearth.

He stepped outside the arrival area of the ICW General Offices in Geneva, Switzerland, thinking back about the last couple of weeks in this new world: he had made sure to spread knowledge about him evenly, even buying the old Fleamont Manor from a muggle Petroleum trader, and to put in charge three house-elves, this time brought from the ministry, of the cleaning of the house and to make it habitable once more, after having spent a whole week warding the house by himself;

then he went to Privet Drive to make sure that this version of the Dursleys wasn't completely abusive, and in fact they were the same as his, extremely neglectful, but careful not to ever cross the line, otherwise the neighbours would talk!

Still, he checked the blood wards, noting that they were still going strong, just like the other, more subtle, charms that Dumbledore had put up, like the one to send the slightest compulsion to provide the young Harry with enough food for him not to starve and the one to cause panic at the thought of what others would say after seeing any possible bruise on him.

He now knew that this world was more or less like his, the Dursleys were neglectful, but not abusive and Dumbledore was manipulative, but had good intentions, and truly worked for the good.

Now then, only other thing of notice was the application for a Defense mastery at the ICW, the only institution where you could obtain one without having to slave for years under a fat man way past his prime.

Harry also had to check that all the proper papers he added at the British Ministry would still count as legal or not.

He made a brief detour to the archive, striding as if it was his right to be there, and checked that indeed, everything seemed alright.

He exhaled in relief, before collecting himself and directing towards the Examination Offices, where he presented his ID and sat in the Waiting Hall.

Harry nodded after checking the list Hermione had complied and burnt it, being certain not to leave evidence.

"Harrison Fleamont!" Called a sharp voice with South European accent, signalling that it was his turn.

He stood up and walked calmly to the room.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o..o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

 _ **Dooooone!**_

 _ **Alright-o, this was longer than I thought it would end up being, so I had to split it in two. Sorry for the cliffhanger! :P**_

 _ **Still, this new chapter was packed with happenings, I hope you like it!**_

 _ **The next one, that I still have to finish, will be all about the Mastery and Harry's travels, so stay tuned!**_

 _ **I'd like to thank wwbillyww that beat a bit of sense into me, verbally, on r/HpPfanfiction, so I'll stop whining.**_

 _ **See you next time!**_


	3. Chapter 3 The Mastery exam

**MoD - Master of Defense**

ch.3

 _"Harrison Fleamont" Called a sharp voice with a Southern European accent, signalling that it was his turn._

 _He stood and walked calmly to the room._

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Harry entered a wide and bright room, with moving tapestries and paintings, all peering down at the happenings.

He immediately took notice of the seven people in the room, three witches next to the door, probably the examiners.

Three were younger looking, a pair of bickering girls, a stoic young man with obvious Slavic origins and the last one was a middle-aged black man. Harry saw that all four of them had seen him and classified him as a threat, going by the stilted silence and the wary glances.

He smiled winningly, channelling his inner Lockhart, making the two girls relax a bit, and the two man tense further.

Inwardly, he snickered a bit, knowing for a fact that none of these applicants would obtain their masteries. It was necessary to know name and specifications of every battle-capable master to become an Auror. You never knew when one went too far in their explorations if the Dark and got sucked into a malicious circle.

"Hm Hm - Today, 12 June 1990, Geneva Switzerland, start the biannual evaluation for independent masteries in Defense against the Dark Arts" The central witch, the one with olive skin, typical of south Italy and Greece, started explaining concisely.

She scanned the with her piercing dark eyes, and Harry even felt the tiniest legilimency brush, which he repelled unblinkingly.

The woman nodded approvingly at him and the Slavic wizard while the other two looked sternly at the remaining applicants.

" Today you will undergo a written examination, necessary to prove your understanding of the actual inner workings of DADA and your theoretical knowledge of curses, hexes, jinxes and battle spells.

Tomorrow, you will be given both the results of this examination and the evaluation of the thesis for your mastery and will be informed if you passed the first round. If so, the same day will also concern your practical tests. This year theme is Ghosts, Poltergeists and Lesser Demons" She nodded curtly taking her place at the desk along her two colleagues and motioned for them to sit at the assigned chairs.

The two girls busied themselves regurgitating facts and dry numbers, obviously thinking of showcasing their mnemonic talents. Harry merely raised an eyebrow at the spectacle, knowing already that encyclopedic knowledge would amount to very little in a Mastery test. Indeed, even the History masters were required more than mere fact spewing, that had to analyse carefully the implications of any major and minor event.

The East-European wizard sat impassively, staring ahead like a trained muggle soldier. He probably had been trained like a soldier, and that would be his downfall.

That type of wizard always faltered when presented with the unknown, lacking either academic curiosity or adventurous courage; indeed, the were extremely efficient at doing anything they were trained for or instructed to do, but could not warp their head around improving.

The last examinee was starting to sweat profusely, kneading his hands and twitching minutely. Probably someone who failed repeatedly and had to prove something.

All in all, Harry didn't feel the slightest bit threatened. It wasn't out of juvenile confidence either, he honestly knew that he could take any of them on, and probably all four of them together.

He had gone a long way since the scrawny seventeen-year old, _too young_ to have to take care of solving the maddening mess that was the Second Wizarding War. He wasn't the kid that spent the night after the Battle of Hogwarts crying in relief, because he didn't have to die, Voldemort couldn't reach him anymore and his friends were safe.

Harry had discovered himself to be more than lucky. He was honestly talented, especially in the more battle-oriented pieces of magic. It was something that had already emerged during his youth, but he, like many others, had ascribed it to pure desperation and luck.

Instead, he flourished at the Auror Academy, he had found that he _liked_ studying magic, getting stronger and more confident in himself. He was the youngest Senior Auror ever since the creation of the Department, and he _deserved_ it. He had gained that position, and it had nothing to do with being the Chosen One or other ridiculous names.

The young wizard had shown the most skeptics that even though he was young, he wasn't inexperienced. He had soaked any advice the more sympathetic had given him, and at twenty-five years old, Harry had cemented his position in the Office. There was no one who could even beat him in a duel one on one anymore.

Oh, he knew that he wasn't still at the level _monsters_ like Dumbledore and Voldemort could wield, but he was catching up. It wasn't a fool's dream anymore. He could honestly say that, at the moment, he was superior in skill and power to both their lieutenants, Bellatrix and Mad-eye at their prime.

He had gained their respect, and it felt good finally being able to be proud of himself.

So yes, at risk of being a little arrogant, Harry knew that if he was pitted with any of them, he could win with little problem.

The examiners passed through their desks, giving pamphlets and checking for any cheating spell or contraption.

He caught the whispered end of a conversation between one of the old witches and the African man " - Mr. Makingbe, I know that you are Akingbade's only apprentice not to have obtained a mastery - fourth - know better. Your self-transfiguration was praised many times - young… wasting your time!"

Harry felt a bit surprised. He knew that Babajide Akingbade was the ICW Supreme Mugwump after Dumbledore, and that he was known as one of the most skilled DADA Masters of all times. He was also known for having mentored the most Masters in the world in the last two hundred centuries, second only to Nicholas Flamel, and _that_ was saying something.

That the man was a disgraced student of his, probably deemed not talented enough, or more likely too bull-headed (the witch had said that he was known as a Transfiguration prodigy when he was young. He could imagine Akingbade saying that he couldn't become a DADA Master and it crashed down as a ton of bricks to a still to young apprentice) to become a Master under an apprenticeship.

It meant that he would more than likely have a hidden ace or two, but he wasn't too worried.

He turned his attention to the lead witch, listening carefully to the instructions and diving into the stack of parchment once the bell signalled the start.

 _1) Describe the process of creation of an Inferius and the best way to deal with one in the consecutive circumstances:_

 _One on one, desert graveyard_

 _One against horde, desert graveyard_

 _One against horde, single civilian to protect_

 _Many against horde, describe the coordination effort_

 _2) Name at least three High Ranked Shields, methods of casting, weaknesses and strengths._

 _3) Describe Tretia Maria's curse and the ways it can be contained._

 _4) What was Emeric the Evil famous for? How did Egbert the Egregious win their duel?_

 _5) How did Gifford Ollerton kill the giant Hengist of Upper Barnton? Describe a different method for giant slaying._

Harry nodded to himself and, after reading the questions of the first stack of parchment.

 _An Inferius is a grisly puppet. The Inferi are gaunt, skeletal beings that closely resemble human corpses, they have individual appearances based on the humans they were created from. The most obvious sign that one is facing an Inferius rather than a living human are the white and cloudy eyes, indicating their owner is devoid of any form of life_

 _'Suscitatio, Exorior Per Invocatio of is Quisnam Dico Vos Quod Exsisto Reus, Inferious' is the Necromantic Curse that reanimates the dead to serve as an army for the Necromancer._

 _Many other spells may be interwoven in the flesh of the Inferi, but no one has ever managed to shield them from fire, thanks to their intrinsic fear of light and warmth._

 _In a simple one on one situation, a powerful but simple fire spell, such as the Furioso Infernus Hex, which creates a concentrate and extremely hot jet of fire; various Blasting Curses may also prove useful, as the fire could take a while to burn the corpse to ashes._

 _Much more complicated is the second circumstance, and for anyone but a proficient and powerful wizard it may prove too much. If possible, escape via either apparition or portkey is to be encouraged. To deal with the horde, large scale fire spells and transfiguration are necessary; the graveyard's tombstones will provide as raw material for inanimate to animate transfigurations, damaging and keeping occupied a number of Inferi. Use of cursed fire may also prove necessary, such as the Flammasectum curse, the Flame-Whip or even Fiendyfire, if all else fails._

 _The third situation is direr than the previous two for the simple fact that the wizard will have a dead weight. Many fall into shock at the gruesome sight of an orde of Inferi. Indeed, more powerful and complex magicks will be needed. One such as these, is the Chinese Dragonfire, whose incantation is 'Shènghuǒ lóng', and will burn through anything, as long as the caster has the necessary control, without fear of it turning against oneself as the Fiendyfire._

 _The last condition has both advantages and disadvantages. While more help will provide cover easily, there is also the chance of losing concentration amidst the confusion. An appropriate spell for this situation is the Firestorm Charm, a powerful and complex piece of magick that will provide both attack and cover. The 'Partis Temporus' charm, used in conjunction, will allow to start evacuate the civilians while keeping the Inferi at bay._

Harry cracked his neck, taking a little break. He looked around, noticing how all the other examinees were clearly troubled and deep in thought.

It wasn't particularly difficult, merely the necessary esoteric knowledge and adaptability made the test more complex than it actually was. It wasn't simply about solving the questions, but one needed to showcase a tactical mind and vast data.

He nodded to himself and started working again

2)

 _The first and most popular High Rank shield is the Fortis Aegis, the golden dome that provides a much more robust defense against both magical and physical attacks. The spell needs an uncommon awareness of one's surroundings and concentration to be cast, but will easily rebuff even the most dark curses, Unforgivables notwithstanding._

 _The most glaring weakness is the reduced mobility of the caster, therefore giving the opponent time to prepare powerful shield-breakers and because of the concentration requirement, it is advisable to be very familiar with it before casting it in a duel._

 _A mostly unknown shield, that was considered a requirement for a Roman Battle Mage to obtain the title of Legatus, is the Haurio Charm. Known also as the Absorbing Shield, it was considered as the perfect protection for long battles with multiple opponents, as the shield absorbs any spell weaker than it to make it more and more resistant. The obvious flaw is that in the early stages, the shield is fragile unless the caster devotes a large part of his magical output to it._

 _Last and most powerful shield known to wizardkind is the Imprimis Patrocinor. The protection granted by the Imprimis is absolute but against Unforgivables. As such, it is lauded between Masters, the only ones capable of casting it, as the perfect shield. The most characteristic fact about the Imprimis is that it takes strength from the personality of the caster, therefore adorning the shield with an animal, in most cases signifying the spirit guardian of the caster. Unfortunately, this shield has power and skill requirements so high that only a few are capable of casting it, and while it will protect from almost anything, even Dragon Fire, the unstoppable sharpness of the intent behind an unforgivable manage to pass it._

 _There are, though, cases where an Imperius Curse or a Cruciatus have been weakened enough by it to allow the caster of the Imprimis to either break out of it, or retaliate._

Harry took a deep breath, reminiscing the two frustrating and disappointing months where he put his all into learning the Imprimis Patrocinor. Ah, how much he swore its name.

Still, he managed eventually. It was incredibly draining at first, so much so that he couldn't muster the concentration to hold it longer than a couple of minutes, but nowadays he was a master at it, capable of snapping an Imprimis at a moment notice.

He had taken Ginny to the Gastronhome, a French restaurant at Clapham to celebrate, and he still remembered the night as one of the best of his life.

He shook his head, refocusing on the test, writing about the horrible Egyptian Curse whose first victim was Tretia Maria. It wasn't only that it made your insides rot, slowly expanding to prolong the pain, but that it was delivered in completely harmless-looking scrolls. It was the first instance of paper bound curses in history, and it took a while to sort out a solution.

He frowned a bit, remembering Binns' class in first year where he spoke about Egbert glorious vanquishing of Emeric the Evil, known for his sadism and, between a few, to be one of the wielder of the Elder Wand.

Well, he couldn't exactly write _that._ So he limited himself to explaining the ins and outs of Egbert lighting-based magicks that left some kind of halo around him, giving him a saint-like appearance.

Gifford Ollerton was a giant-slayer and there are two ways to take down a giant, either you cut its tendons with the aid of a mass of enchanted blades, like Gifford did, or you brute-force your way through it, launching lighting bolts in its face, trying to fry its brain, and creating earthquakes while floating on a broom, to destabilize it.

Once done, he read it again and checked for misspelling and logical errors. Finding none, he happily moved to the second stack.

After he finished everything, he motioned to one of the examiners, gave her the stacked parchments, and exited the room with a cheerful wave, much to the disbelief of his fellow examinees.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Harry stirred slowly from his slumber, feeling the pleasant snap of his bones. He looked around at the room the ICW provided for Master examinees; it wasn't the top of the trend, but it had a very comfy bed, a kitchenette and a large bathroom, curtesy of space expanding charms.

While it wasn't the best place he ever slept in (that had to go to the stunning suite he was given when in Babylon in a diplomatic mission) it wasn't by far the worst. As someone who spent ten years of his life living in a cupboard, he wasn't very hard to please.

He had to give it to them though, both the accommodation and the staff were very courteous, but kept themselves to a distance.

A Mastery was a pretty rare thing after all, there were in the whole world only 300 recognized Masters, so they had to show themselves as gracious, but only one per cent of those who yearned for it managed to obtain the grade. As Masters obtained automatically a vote in the ICW ruling council, the white collars wanted to ingratiate themselves to any possible new power.

Not feeling hungry, he dressed himself, wearing his black Auror Armour underneath his bordeaux half robe. He was thankful that the AA was introduced in the early 00s, so no one would suspect him of anything.

He smiled charmingly at the two Spanish witches from yesterday, who blushed a deep red, and walked confidently toward the examination chamber.

The three examiners from yesterday were already there, even if he was twenty minutes early. He cast detection spells on the doorway, the chair and the desk before finally sitting down and meeting the approving gaze of the Head witch.

A few minutes later, all five of them were inside, and the examiners called attention ringing a bell.

"Good morning, I trust that you enjoyed the ICW hospitality" the Italian witch started, her voice ringing clearly in the chamber. She pressed on without waiting for answers " Yesterday, you five partook the theoretical test. As all three of us are Masters in our own right, we have the authority to evaluate your work in every aspect, from the way you inspected the quill for any curse to the clearness in your writing, which may save some lives one day" her eyes were piercing, looking for any kind of weakness.

"We have therefore decided, after reviewing your thesis, that one of you doesn't have the necessary knowledge to pass to the second half of the exam, as the obtained score is already too low. Mr. Andrei Pavičić, please collect your things and leave"

The East-European wizard looked faintly embarrassed by the situation, but shortly collected himself and with a nod to the examiners, he left without looking back.

How curious, he would have sworn that he was the most dangerous of the bunch. Well, that probably meant that he was a 'brawn before brain' type of person. He snickered a bit inwardly, thinking that Pavičić probably thought that he could have brute force his way through the exam.

The Head witch shot a frightening look at the two giggling witches that quailed them immediately. She shook her head, muttering of youngsters and inappropriate behaviour.

She cleared her throat and started explaining " I'm now going to ask all of you to step outside and allow us to prepare for your practical. I'm going to call you alphabetically, therefore be sure to have prepared everything you need beforehand. Now leave"

The remaining four nodded and quickly trailed off. After a few minutes, they saw the same witch exit and call " Laura Alvares Gutierres?"

One of the two Spanish witches nodded and followed her.

Harry fiddled a bit with the hem of his robe, admittedly a bit nervous.

After thirty minutes, that felt like three hours the Head witch came out alone, doubling the worry etched on the remaining Spanish witch, who stood up, almost tripping in her haste, and answered the call of " Graciela Aurora Borges?" nervously.

They once again disappeared in the chamber, and Harry and the African wizard traded looks of mutual impatience.

Once again, they had to wait close to half an hour, before Harry was called, leaving a very nervous Makingbe behind.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

The door closed softly behind him and Harry felt several silencing and all-around privacy wards go up, and raised an appraising eyebrow to the three witches standing in front of him.

The one on the left spoke up with an unmistakable American accent "Mr. Fleamont, we have read and evaluated both your written exam and your thesis on _Elemental magicks and the rational approach_ , both very interesting reads that showcased vast knowledge for someone so young, a tactical mind and a surprising amount of experience"

Harry just nodded, knowing this already.

He had decided on that specific thesis because with the passing years he had found a surprising affinity for large scale Battle Magicks, and specifically the elemental branch.

He could, nowadays easily call forth a localized storm to soak and electrocute his enemies but ask him to connect together a Protean Network and he risked blowing it up.

He honestly had more compatibility with Willpower based spells than delicate and precise spell-weaving.

"We were indeed impressed, Mr. Fleamont" continued the Head witch

"Now, the first part of your practical will consist of the handling of a dark creature that we have prepared, a duel with myself and we will conclude asking you to perform a few necessary spells for a Master to know"

Harry looked at her critically, having expected to have to duel one of them, and nodded curtly, before walking to the area delimited by a couple of rune circles.

At once, he felt the temperature of the room plummet, and a feeling of dread starting to increase.

 _'Damn those dementors!'_ he thought angrily. While he could perform the Patronus since he was thirteen, he always found it suffocating to stand in the presence of those _things_.

Three of the biggest damn monsters he had ever seen started gliding towards him, raspings sounds filling the room.

Harry mentally steeled himself, thinking of Ginny and how he loved her, his desire to protect her, before calmly and steadily calling " _Expecto patronum!" ._ A large silvery creature sped from his wand, immediately chasing away bad thoughts and the gloom that had settled in the room.

As if burned the three demons retreated as fast as they could, but not before being hit by powerful silvery hoofs.

Once the patronus was sure there wouldn't be any other threat, it calmly trotted to him, lowering his head to be pet.

Harry huffed amusedly at his protector's antics, before giving in and scratching it behind the ears.

He heard clapping sounds and turned around to see the three witches looking mighty impressed at the sheer presence his thestral patronus emitted.

It wasn't an extremely difficult charm, its was to be expected for any DADA Master wannabe to know it, but performing it under duress and producing one of the most dense patroni ever seen _was_ impressive.

He nodded to Honny, the name of the real counterpart of his patronus, the leader of Hogwarts herd, and it dissipated in mist.

His patronus' from had changed after the war and the time he spent with Ginny, that made him into his own man. He wanted to be the one to _protect her_ , and his form had changed accordingly, becoming the redhead's wild horse companion.

Once the three finished their hushed conversation, the Head witch flicked her wand a couple of times transfiguring the desks cluttered at the far end into a dueling platform. With another flick, the second set of runes (the first being a containment for the dementors) glowed and he could see the shimmer of a powerful dueling barrier at work.

He smirked, shrugging his half robe on a chair before walking confidently on the platform.

As he faced the other witch, that too had abandoned the bulky robes in favour of a dueling outfit, she started explaining the rules.

"Standard dueling rules, no killing or maiming allowed, yes to area transfiguration and elemental spells. Once Transfiguration Master Amanda Moore here calls it, the duel is finished."

Harry nodded, having expected soothing like it.

The two walked calmly, creating some distance before turning to face each other

"Three

Two

One

Start!"

Faster than he thought possible for her age the Italian witch casted three different spells, a banishing to his feet, a stunner to his mid-section and a Disorientating Curse to the head.

Harry jumped back, allowing his armour to take care of the debris from the powerful silent curse, before smoothly batting aside the curse and reflecting the stunner back to his opponent, adding ' _Somnio Verus', t_ he sleep inducing hex and the Stone-Throwing charm ' _Silex Iacio_ ', making use of the environment.

While the witch was busy repelling the stone projectiles, eventually deciding to hide behind an _Aegis Totalis,_ he animated the cluttered furniture, giving it teeth and claws.

The Italian, fed up with the waves of assault cancelled her shield and swept her wand in a tight circle, causing a shockwave and destroying his animations.

The air compressed itself, making it difficult to breathe at another movement of hers, before she gathered it tightly to her chest and released it together with a wordless scream, blasting Harry and everything else away.

Harry grinned a bit, before launching himself from his place on the floor into an unrelenting attack, pushing and pushing, throwing bolts of lighting and powerful stunners.

The effect of this was an excited witch, who let out a yell of laughter, throwing herself towards the cluttered desks and transfiguring them in sturdy walls.

Harry took it as a challenge when his first ' _Bombarda Maxima_ ' didn't quite destroy the witch's protections and decided to start pulling his punches and loudly called ' _Keraunós!'_ filling the spell with his will to dominate and win.

He almost blinded himself. The lightening struck true, rending honour to the name 'Zeus' fury'.

Everything in his wake was charred, the wall was down and the remains of a few large felines were all that was left of the attack the Head examiner was preparing, slowly returning to wood and stone.

The witch herself was only lightly charred, if completely out of it, thanks to the various layer of protections between herself and the first impact.

There was a stench of ozone in the air, only remainder, beside the destruction, that the fury of a god had struck today.

The arbiter cleared her throat, still a bit dazed, and called the win for Harry. He nodded graciously, before moving his wand around, cleaning the air and repairing what was possible.

The remaining witch was tending to the Head, casting healing charms that mended the tears in her skin, before warning her

"Donatella, dear, you will be sore for at least a few days. I think you should visit the infirmary after the exams are over"

The Italian witch nodded distractedly, before looking up at him and smiling briefly, allowing him to understand that she wasn't offended or anything.

He smiled back, slumping slightly in relief.

Once they had cleaned themselves up and tidied a bit the room, they returned to the centre of the chamber.

"Compliments on your win, you are the first to take me down in ten years of being an examiner" She confessed, her lips twitching in genuine delight.

Harry bowed his head briefly in acknowledgement of both her skills and her admittedly impressive winning streak. After all, even with all the weaklings, three to four new Masters were made every year.

They returned to the seriousness of the exam and a bit later saw Harry casting numerous complex spells, from Advanced Stunning Spells to powerful temporary wards, to the darkest curses, ending with the _piéce de résistance_ was his obsidian Imprimis Patrocinor, a dark impenetrable barrier with a Thestral in flight etched into.

Once he concluded the impressive show, the three nodded to each other, before motioning for him to come over.

The Head Examiner tapped his chest, making a golden medal with a gleaming M etched into it appear.

His smile widened considerably and she nodded at him before formally saying " The International Confederation of Wizards grants you the title of Master of Defense Against the Dark Arts, giving you a place in its body. Peace and Security to magic."

He echoed her "Peace and Security to magic." before bowing a last time to the trio and moving toward the door on the opposite side of the room, more than ready to go to the adventure.

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 **Doooooone**

 **Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah**

 **I thought it was never going to end!**

 **I wanted to put at least a bit of the adventures Harry's going to end up into, but it was already a thousand words longer than the previous chapter.**

 **Weeeel, I hope you weren't too bored with the examinations, but being an actual Master has a great importance in the story, so it was necessary.**

 **As always, I appreciate reviews to let me know what you think**

 **See ya next time**


	4. Chapter 4 The Curse-Breaking Adventure

**MoD - Master of Defense**

Ch. 4

 _He echoed her "Peace and Security to magic." before bowing a last time to the trio and moving toward the door on the opposite side of the room, more than ready to go to the adventure._

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Harry applied the Cooling Charm again, brooding just the appropriate amount. He tried to listen to the spiel the Master Curse-Breaker was ranting about, something concerning foolish youngsters and how they didn't have an ounce of respect for their elders.

Oh… he was probably referring to him. It may be a good idea to start paying attention…

He ducked under a flying chalk, rolling away from an Entrail-Exploding Curse. He hastily erected an Aegis Shield, which immediately suffered the onslaught of an impressive selection of painful and esoteric curses.

Once standing he turned to face of Arsenius Jigger, the Master Curse-Breaker assigned to his instruction during his stay in Nigeria.

The old man, who had a few seconds before tried to spill his guts on the ground, had a distinct look of satisfaction.

"At least you know how to use your wand, boy. Now start paying attention or I'll show you why I'm the only Curse-Breaker alive to be over one hundred and fifty!" he snarked.

Harry nodded slowly, inwardly cursing himself for his idiocy. He should have known that those damn goblins would have given an old-crackpot as a mentor!

He thought back on how he ended up in this situation, shutting out the inane babble of how good the old times were.

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Harry had just managed to get out of a very pompous ICW meeting where he was inducted.

He had to dodge out of the way of many old wolves of the political arena, all dying to chain him to some political faction or the other.

He nodded gratefully to Albus Dumbledore, dressed for once in 'normal' tones, for how much Caribbean green could be a subdued color, who had understood his plight and managed to redirect some attention to himself, allowing him to slip away.

The old man simply smiled cheerfully at him, eyes twinkling.

He probably had enjoyed seeing him squirm away, before swooping down and saving him.

Harry allowed himself a small fond smile for his old mentor. He had his grievances with his own Dumbledore, but it didn't mean he hated him.

The Headmaster had been the grandfather he always wanted, and had thought him much, more important than any lesson about magic. He had thought him about life itself, when to forgive and when to come down on someone without mercy.

The man had been happy to see a new Master from England. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to have an actual conversation, only exchanging a few polite and formal words. He knew though that if the confused frown meant something, some serious digging would be done about him.  
He was thankful that he had not left any loose ends, what with the ritual he had performed in the Forest of Dean and the steps he had taken to stabilize his new persona.

He pondered a bit, taking in the greedy looks the various councilmen had thrown at him.

Harry knew he had to get out of the way for a bit. Already too many people had started making plans for him, and he certainly didn't want to become a part of the daily political machinations of the ICW!

He still had almost two years till Quirrel died, leaving behind a free DADA post.

He was confident enough to know that he could dismantle the Curse on the position if he found the anchor, and he had an inkling about what it could be.

He and Hermione had decided to let First year play as it did in their world, as it made every important player aware of Voldemort still being alive. Lockhart, instead, would be easily supplanted.

He was thinking of exorcising Binns to bring Remus to the castle in third year, just so that the younger Harry could experience the same bond he did with his own version of the man.

They had also regrettably decided to leave Sirius in Azkaban. Even if it pained him to play chess-master, nothing short of breaking him out early would get him away from there, and from conversations with his own Sirius he knew that it was Wormtail's image that provided enough strength to return from the shadows of insanity the Dementors' presence brought. He had, however, made sure with liberal use of Compulsion Charms to send him enchanted clothes to keep him healthier and stave off the doom and gloom.

He had received the ping of magic that signaled the activation of Sirius new outfit and relaxed a bit, for the first time in months feeling less like a monster.

Once all the drama was done with, he took the first chance out of the country, and it fell in his lap on a rainy day in Diagon Alley.

"Master Fleamont, Senior Governor Maimlimbs would like to speak to you" said a Teller, interrupting the amusing 'discussion' he was having with Spearguts, who was trying to get him to agree to buy shares of a few goblin-backed businesses, all the while insulting him whenever he could without even trying to be subtle.

Harry looked down at him, wondering whatever could a high-ranking goblin want with him, but nodded to the messenger and motioned for him to lead him. He nodded to Spearguts who merely scowled at him.

The small goblin lead him through a maze of marble corridors and luscious wooden doors. He had felt the Disorienting Wards came into being the second he stepped away from the main Hall.

While not being the most skilled Occlumens, as it required a type of personality completely different from his untamed one, he could more or less resist the effects through sheer will-power.

It was almost an entire new branch of the Mind Arts, more similar to the projection of Legilimency than the concealing of Occlumency.

It had taken him a few years to bring it up to snuff, but nowadays he could meet head on any attack on his mind, be it Veela allure or subtle probes from an invader as if it was a contest of wills, like the golden dome of the Priori Incantatio that saved his life in the Graveyard.

He shook his head to focus on the present when they reached an ornate and elegant door.

His guide placed his hand on the door, before speaking a few words in Gobbledygook.

Eventually, he was led inside a tasteful office, reminiscent of high end solicitor's in the muggle world.

He was met by a gnarly goblin, whose left ear was missing and left eye was withe and cloudy, unseeing. A warrior then.

"Mr. Fleamont. I'm Maimlimbs, the one responsible for any Curse-Breaking venture engaged by Gringotts'. You are here because we know you to be an extremely proficient wizard in Battle Magicks and offer you a position in our ranks"

Harry leaned back, stapling his fingers together on his lap, mulling over the offer. Really, he should have known to expect this type of offer.

There weren't many independent Masters these days, many of them being either scholars or government officials.

He was, indeed, a great prey. He kept his face impassible, not wanting to give away any of his thoughts.

"I have no intention to chain myself to either Gringotts or any other, at least for the time being; therefore I will have to refuse your original offer -"

The goblin in front of him nodded, probably knowing already that he would have refused thanks to some kind of dossier they would have prepared with all their info on him.

"But I'm willing to work for Gringotts' for a limited amount of time, if you'll meet a few conditions" he said calmly, thinking of the various expeditions around the world he could visit and learn from.

Maimlimbs motioned for him to continue, clearly willing to at least listen to him.

"I'm willing to work until June 1, 1992, as I'll be otherwise occupied" he stated firstly, this being the most important point.

"Secondly, I'm not going to be working for you only to be shown off or having to teach a few wide-eyed Hogwarts' graduate, as you have the necessary personnel already"

The Senior goblin nodded, as it was still into the realm of possible.

"It seems to me that you seek the knowledge of the ancients, Master Fleamont. We are willing to employ you as a guard in some of our most dangerous ventures, and let you into, say, 5% of the discoveries as a payment"

"I don't think I understood well, did you say 5%?!" Harry asked, incredulous at the sheer audacity.

Maimlimbs barely twitched, raising an eyebrow.

"If I am to work as a scarecrow, you will provide me with knowledge from previous explorations and everything from those I'll protect. I do not care for moneys, but I will not accept less" he bartered.

The old goblin grinned, sharp theet out for a show. A human with a bit of spine was always a good surprise.

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And here he was, listening for the rare gem in all the ramblings of his momentary teacher.

Still, he knew that, while old, Arsenius Jigger was one of the best around. He was, curiously, also the writer of _Magical Drafts and Potions_ , _Potion Opuscule_ and _The essential Defense against the Dark Arts._

Son of Mareb Jigger, potioneer and first owner of Sluggs & Jiggers he had taken his mastery under the great Curse-Breakers of XIX century, taught at Hogwarts for ten years, before the 'Merrythough era' and was still one of the best around.

He was also a git, delighting himself in making him learn useless little fact and hiding useful information in his usual spiel.

He had spent six months already in Egypt, studying the very first wards humanity ever used, delving deeply into 'conceptual' curses, or those that attacked dynasties and positions. It was thanks to this that he made a breakthrough in his search to break whatever Voldemort did to the DADA position.

It was obvious that the budding Dark Lord had wanted to either control what the new generations knew and therefore increasing his influence, or destroy any attempt to raise resistance against his movement.

There were three places he could have placed the anchor for the curse, as an anchor-less one required an _in loco_ living sacrifice, and the only time he had time for that was when he killed Myrtle, but he used her death to make a horcrux.

He could also have taken a few hags and sacrificed them in the Room of Requirement, but it would have hardly been conspicuous to do so.

Therefore, it was either the trophy for Special Services in the Hall of Trophies, something in the unexplored parts of the Chamber of Secrets, or the Diadem of Ravenclaw.

This last one was the most likely, as it was both out of the way of preying eyes (hm hm Albus Dumbledore hm hm) and satisfied Tom Riddle's ego, as it was literally under their noses, unlike the Chamber.

These days the crew he was protecting was working around the tomb of a Nigerian Prince who decided to entomb the whole village with himself, as he was considered a god in life.

The history behind it was pretty boring, but the fact that the knowledge of a centuries old magical civilization, that was completely cut off from communication with anyone else, was a few nasty traps away led the Curse-Breakers to work themselves to exhaustion.

Suddenly, he heard a low rumble echoing through the site, followed by shouts of panic and fear.

In the time of an apparition, he was on the East entrance, standing ahead of the panicked workers, wand held high.

He immediately understood their dismay, as a towering figure, as high as a three story building, stalked silently toward them.

A Nundu had arrived.

Harry felt the first trickles of fear, knowing that this beast was considered the most dangerous in the world for a reason. His strength was on par with that of a dragon, his lethality with a basilisk, his speed with a snidget.

As the beast assessed him, Harry felt a rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins, and steeled himself for what appeared to be a fight to death.

"Run away, fools, the portkeys will work from the start of the camp! RUN!" he yelled, not even turning away from his opponent.

The crew of Curse-Breakers and various aides run away like death was on their heels, which it actually was. There was a movement of stillness, where the beast and the wizard just looked at each other, before the Nundu struck, his powerful claws gouging the earth where Harry had been a split-second earlier.

The young Master moved his wand in a sharp gesture from the ground to the sky, and the earth followed, a twenty feet long snake-like creature rising as a tree, coiling itself around the feline.

Sweat trickled down his brow, Harry started strangling the beast as hard as he could. It lasted only a few seconds, before with a mighty swipe his construct was battered down, merging back with the ground.

Harry trapped the Nundu in an optical illusion, aimed to gain him a bit of time for his next move. The beast followed where he thought Harry was running, catching up in no-time, powerful jaws closing where his mid-section should have been.

Great roots spurted from down below, trapping the feline, too tight to simply swipe away. It raised his head to look at where Harry was, his natural resistance to magic having broken the illusion; it was indeed a testament to the wizard's skill that it had even worked for a bit.

As it opened its jaw and let out an enormous cloud of poison that ate away at the bindings, Harry thrust his wand ahead, which caused the currents of air he had gathered and redirected to explode in a single direction, leaving gashes in the earth.

Once the smoke and sand settled down, the Nundu had a few small gashes on his side, and behind him was a stripe of blackened and torn vegetation, clearly the result of the strong winds channeling and compressing all the toxicity of the feline's breath.

In a flash, the giant leopard was on him, claw slashing down on a hastily erected _Imprimis Patrocinor_ , which didn't even waver under the assault. While it was occupied on this new challenge, Harry moved his hand, forcing himself to concentrate on the task while keeping the shield up.

He used every ounce of wandless skin he had to gather moisture in the air, directing it in a direct path from himself to the magical beast.

As it seemed that the Nundu had given up on taking him down directly and had started to gather strength, his poison sack pulsing with effort, Harry unleashed his most trusted elemental spell, 'Zeus' fury'.

As he yelled _'Keraunós' ,_ this time putting behind it all his rage and killing intent, the divine lightning exploded from his wand, sapping everything he could give it, his path already easier thanks to the water residue he had gathered.

Blinding in his intensity, it crackled with superhuman power. The Nundu met it heads on, releasing his venomous breath.

As the two forces met, the electricity ionized the venom, changing its charge and rendering it useless. The thunderbolt, on the other hand, didn't stop, and the beast was hit. It convulsed, a high pitch wine echoing in the air, followed by two flashes from behind.

This caused Harry to lose concentration and release the spell. As he turned he saw a couple of trembling aides, holding cameras.

He wanted to yell at them and bash their heads, but he couldn't allow himself any more slack. The Nundu, even though charred, the skin on his muse blackened, climbed to its feet.

It saw the two new preys and was upon them in a flash. Before it could register, one of them was already tore in sheds by the beast's claw.

Harry sent the most powerful blasting curse he could, hoping to save at least the second.

The ' _Horyaheexia_ ', a spell used to batter down wards and fortifications, hit the Nundu, lifting it in the air. With feline grace, the magical predator righted itself, landing crouched, ready to attack again.

With another wave of Harry's wand, the surviving wizard was sent flying away, as far as he could.

The two titans met each other with a pinning stare, with a bit of genuine respect.

Then Harry grinned, feeling exhilarated as he sent Explosive Hexes and jets of white-hot fire all around, trying to hit his opponent.

He moved his wand in a circular gesture, collecting debris from all around and spinning them around himself, before making them all explode towards the beast, with a few conjured and transfigured blades together.

With all its speed and agility, the Nundu was able to survive the onslaught that would have taken down anything else.

The only mark the majestic show of magical power had left was a deep gouge on one of its legs.

The beast, as suddenly as it had arrived, left through the wilderness of the savanna.

Only after five full minutes had passed and Harry had gone through any wide area revealing charm he allowed himself to relax, slumping in relief with a strangled laugh.

It had been a humbling experience. For all his accomplishments, he had managed to only char it and cut it a bit, nothing the magically speeded regeneration wouldn't take care of in a couple of days

A single creature, not even at the peak of his species, as the biggest ones could be two to three feet higher and five to ten longer, was enough to go toe to toe with him.

Harry felt resolve building up. He had a long way to go yet, but he was on the right track. He would give it his all in this year and a half left, and would become stronger and stronger!

For now, though, he had to recover a bit.

He stood up, flicking his wand to the mauled corpse of the reporter-wannabe, cleaning it up of blood and patching it up as best as he could.

Harry set up a new perimeter charm, just to be sure that nothing could come in without him knowing, and walked towards the tents.

His portkey deposited him in the Gringotts' infirmary at Abuja, Nigeria's capital.

As a healer started fussing over him, cleaning his cuts and healing the small concussion, he took the time to clear up his thoughts. His lungs were cleaned of the residual poison that he inhaled, and he gulped down a couple of potions.

Once there wasn't anything else to take care off, he exited the area, ignoring the cries for him to stay in bed and recover, he walked swiftly to the meeting room of the crew.

His entrance was met with happiness and disbelief. Everyone knew what he had done, and going toe to toe with a Nundu wasn't exactly normal. It usually took large expeditions of fifty to one hundred to subdue one, and even that wasn't done lightly.

The aide that he managed to save was still trembling, but had managed to get himself together and thanked him profusely, to which he only grunted in response.

Arsenius was the first to approach him, slapping him on the back with a large grin.

"Good job lad, I knew that you had to be good at something!"

Harry snorted, a hand mussing up his filthy hair. He smiled back " It was a good fight. We can talk about it together this evening, but right now I need a hot bath."

The old man nodded, clearly understanding that he wanted some time to himself "After you are done, you'll need to report officially to Maimlimbs, but for now, go wash yourself lad, you stink".

He nodded to the others and exited, wanting to just soak his bones in a hot tub.

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Q'umarkaj was an interesting place, Harry decided in the months he spent there, looking for clues about the great rituals of the Sun and information about the feathered serpent, the Quetzalcoatl.

It would have been a great success for the Crew, with which he had already worked numerous times since that expedition in Nigeria.

Harry, instead, was looking for clues about the ancient methods self transfiguration the Mayan magicals employed often.

This specific site was known to have hosted the Wuj, a congregation of Masters in self-transfiguration known to be capable of changing in more than one animal.

They were also the only case recorded in history of monkey animagus, as it was an extremely complex animal.

Harry wanted that type of knowledge. How did they manage to change their brains to accept the complex social structure of monkeys? How could so many of them transform in similar animals?

He cared not for the mass sacrificial rituals they often performed to keep the gods happy; nor for the chance of meeting a Quetzalcoatl, a magical winged snake, capable of wind manipulation, that hadn't been sighted for over a hundred year; nor for the treasure they were likely to find once the Curse-Breakers had managed to take down the ritual-powered Constrictor wards, called so because of the slow tightening of the chambers they were active in once an intruder was spotted, while blocking down entrances and exits. They had already taken five people, between Curse-Breakers and aides.

All in all, he had managed to get a few rare ingredients for potions while here, as they had discovered preserved greenhouses, and his animagus training was going well. In three months he had found his form, a Cave Lion, and had managed to get all of his paws to transform.

The insights he had found in the preserved tablets had been a godsend. It usually took a couple of years, even to the most talented. It was a sign of the sheer genius of the Marauders, to even manage while underage and without instruction. Sometimes he still got angry, thinking of how much good the four of them could have done if they had put their act together and stopped acting like prats.

The transformation in itself wasn't very complex, even Rita Skeeter had managed it, and she was only slightly above average in Transfiguration.

The difficult part was comprehending yourself and accepting the way you were, completely.

He had an inkling that Rita had known very well how much she liked buzzing around, snooping for anything interesting.

He liked Q'umarkaj even more, because it provided a bit of a respite from England and its chaos.

A couple of days after his fight with the Nundu, an article on the Daily Prophet had deemed him Pride of Great Britain, and he couldn't go anywhere without being mobbed. Sometimes he felt like he was still home during the days after the War's end.

Letters from admirers, both male and female, had piled his desk in his room at the Milestone. He had taken residence in the hotel's room after the first time being proposed in public. Honestly, he didn't know why he hadn't done from the start. It was an amazing place, he ate very well, and a simple Confudus Charm took care of anything. Not like they always used every room, so it wasn't like he was stealing. He paid the meals and service!

He was called to the site, as they had apparently cracked the last defense.

Harry stopped an inexperienced apprentice from trowing himself in the newly discovered Treasure Room, and together with the most able Curse-Breakers, he started sweeping the room for any hidden trap. And indeed they found a fair few.

While the crew worked at disarming them, Harry conversed with Arsenius. These days they had a warm relationship, both faking snarkiness and not to care about each other, while in truth the old man had taken him completely under his wing and taught him everything he knew. From obscure detection spells to Enchantments to Formal Dueling, something he had never had actual instruction of, if you didn't count Lockhart foray.

"This is it eh? Your last mission before going back to England and starting to work at Hogwarts huh" the old man mused.

He had told him about wanting to teach there as it had always been a bit of a dream of his, what with Fifth year and all.

"Yes, at the end of the month my contract with Gringotts will end and I'll apply for the job" he replied without looking at him.

Arsenius grunted a bit before adding "Send a letter if you get too bored teaching dunderheads. I did, that's why I'm here". Harry had to suppress a smile, knowing that the old man had wanted him to stay in the goblins's employment, but didn't want to sound as if he cared.

He grunted back "I'll do that, try not to die without me being your cane, old man!"

He ducked underneath a Decapitation Hex, grinning. He was going to Hogwarts, he was going home.

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 ** _Hello people!_**

 ** _So, with this chapter done, Harry will finally go back to England and start working at Hogwarts!_**

 ** _I thank everyone for the reviews and the tips you have given me! Feel free to say anything to me._**

 ** _I am a bit worried about the fighting scene, as it didn't come out as I had originally thought it, but I'm more or less satisfied._**

 ** _I'm writing chapter five already, so it'll be up in a couple of days!_**

 ** _See ya next time_**

 ** _J_**


	5. Chapter 5 The interview

**MoD - Master of Defense**

Ch.5

 _He ducked underneath a Decapitation Hex, grinning. He was going to Hogwarts, he was going home._

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It was the first week of June, and Harry felt extremely nervous. He knew that he couldn't intervene at this point of time, but even the smallest change could result in the death of one or more Golden Trio member.

It was hard to keep himself from bolting to Hogwarts and take care of the Dark wizard by himself, but this was an important juncture in time. Harry had to meet Voldemort by himself, as it would lay down the fundamental antagonism between the two.

Before that encounter in the Philosopher's Stone's room, Voldemort was a mere shadow of the past for him. Seeing him there, feeling his hatred, were crucial points. His will was forged through these confrontations, and even if dangerous, this one was way better than the fight in the Chamber of Secrets.

He would still lay down clues for the trio to find out Tom Riddle's identity and origins, but doing so in a controlled environment was completely different from finding out during a desperate fight.

Harry had needed that kind of push to understand completely the world he had been thrust into. Magic was a wonderful and terrible thing, and he couldn't afford to be coddled that much.

Harry felt a bit like Dumbledore, plotting everyone's life, but he wouldn't let it stop himself. He had the power to redirect this reality from the painful future, and he would do it.

He paced a bit in the sitting room, while waiting for his lunch to be delivered. He liked the hotel because they didn't ask questions and didn't gossip to the Daily Prophet about how he liked his Shepherd's pie.

It was a modern establishment, with a swimming pool, a sauna and a spa; he had made use of the free massages almost daily, while he planned and plotted.

As the waiter knocked on the door, he pressed the button to open the way. A tray full of oriental dishes greeted him, from a simple Ponzu soup to the masterly crafted nigiri sushi.

He gave the young man a twenty pound note in thanks and received a bow and a smile.

He had found that eating well helped the thought process and overall health, so he made sure to always have a nutritious meal with various foods. Munching on a particularly succulent Ootoro nigiri, he decided that he would need to prevent the whole Chamber fiasco to happen, from Dobby's misdirected assistance to the petrifications.

Harry still felt guilty over Dobby's death in his own world, so he wowed to help his counterpart and free him from Malfoy's grasp. He would need to thread carefully, as Lucius Malfoy was a master manipulator, and he couldn't hope to find hard evidence.

He would, therefore, need to act from the shadows too. Indeed, two could play that game.

He could use these few remaining weeks to take care of the last remaining nuisance, Gilderoy Lockhart.

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Finding the man was easy enough, what with his the scenes he caused everywhere he went and it was only necessary to follow the trail of horny middle-aged housewives.

Polyjuiced as a muggle twenty-years old attractive brunette, easy enough to do when you knew where to go, he approached the man as he finally removed himself from the adoring crowd.

Harry cringed a bit inside at having to walk by the pompous fraud swaying his hips, before throwing him a saucy wink, but even with Lockhart, it was best to lower his wariness first.

A simple exchange of words and a steamy kiss, the idiot had apparated them inside his house, keying him as guest.

As his feet hit the marbled floor, his wand was already in motion. He pushed inside the blonde's mind with the strength of a train, destroying the surprising, if a bit feeble, attempt to keep him out.

Apparently Lockhart knew a bit of Occlumency. He took his job as a freelance obliviator seriously, it seemed.

Even in this reality, the man was indeed a fraud, so Harry didn't feel much guilt at being so heavy-handed. As he flashed through memories, offhandedly noticing one were the man had thrown a tantrum after the Daily Prophet's article of his fight with the Nundu, complete with a photograph of him sending a lightning bolt at the beast, he started his work at sending compulsions and suggestions.

He wiped any kind of desire of working at Hogwarts, even if the man would have done it only for the easily beddable girls and money he would have made by selling his complete works to every student.

Harry started slowly to insert pre-made thoughts of donating his money to 's, to retire somewhere and only interact with the local villagers honestly. He put compulsions to stop abusing of his magic, and start living honestly.

Once he made the last sweep to squash any remaining defiance, he exited the man's mind. Harry had decided against destroying him like he did last time, in favour of giving him a chance. The compulsions he had put into Lockhart's mind should last for a few years, and would become permanent if he actually accepted them and started working to become an actual nice person.

He would check up on the blonde wizard in a couple of years, just to be sure.

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The yearly notice on the Daily Prophet offering a position at Hogwarts as a DADA teacher was overshadowed by the article on Lockhart's resignation from public life. He had to give it to him, he managed to appear as a magnanimous and wise man, donating almost his full fortune to the hospital and retiring at the 'peak' of his career.

Still, Harry would let him have his last moments of glory, he wasn't evil after all.

Harry took his breakfast in his room, as his usual, taking his time to enjoy his cornetto and cappuccino. He freshened his breath and whitened his teeth with a lazy flick of his wand.

Once dressed in a forest green half-robe, a classic white shirt and black trousers, and once he combed his hair back, he deemed himself ready.

Today was the week to present oneself for the interview regarding the DADA position at Hogwarts. He knew that he was most likely the only one beside Severus Snape to try this year, so it was almost a given, but he would still hold himself professionally.

Harry tied the letter of application to his new owl, a Great Horned species, pitch black with white spectacles-like dots around his eyes, so he had named him Alhazen, in honour of the Arab philosopher, mathematician and scientist who pioneered the principles of optics.

He smiled, satisfied with how the day was shaping, and decided to take a stroll in Hogsmeade. Twisting, he appeared in front of the Shrieking Shack's fencing with a soft *snap*.

His steps silenced by the soft ground, Harry slowly worked his way towards the village and the great price itself, Hogwarts.

The Shrieking Shack was as weathered as always, and while it bears a mark of pain and darkness, that of a young werewolf without his pack, it wasn't nearly as tainted as it was in his world at the end of the war.

Snape's tomb, a place of traitors and vile magical abominations. Harry had it levelled to the ground.

As he neared the outskirts of the village, he decided to stop for a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks, just to see how Rosmerta was faring, another victim of the war. She hadn't been the same since Draco's badly-casted Imperius, and didn't survive the year-long reign of Voldemort.

He saw Aberforth chucking out a couple of drunk wizards from the Hog's Head, all the while grumbling, Ambrosius Flume cleaning the windows of his shop with a few lazy flicks of wand and some poor young employee of the Owl Post Office wash the floor of filth. Harry smiled, feeling better and better about this new adventure he had thrown himself in.

The Wizarding World wasn't perfect by any stretch, he knew that better than anyone else, but it was home. Harry wowed not for the first time to do his best to change things for the better. He knew that it would be a long time before he could live normally in his own universe, but these experiences would be a boon when he finally could.

He didn't doubt that there would be rough times ahead, but he would weather them, and come up ahead.

The young wizard entered the Three Broomsticks in a cheerful and determined mood, content with himself. Walking in, he spotted an enormous figure at a table, apparently upset over something.

He approached calmly, before asking "May I sit down?"

"Hu? Ah yes, dun worreh. Havn't seen ya 'round er b'fore. I'm Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid" replied the half-giant.

Harry smiled kindly at his first friend's counterpart. He sat down and gestured to Rosmerta to take his order, then he nodded to Hagrid and presented himself "I'm Harrison Fleamont, but you can call me Harry"

As the pretty barmaid approached, he asked "I'll have a butterbeer and bring my friend here whatever he wants" Harry inclined his head towards Hagrid. The woman nodded and turned to face the bearded man, who looked a bit confused, but nonetheless asked for a pint of mead.

It would have been worrying, for anyone else to start drinking in the morning, but the half-giant's constitution prevented him from even feeling the slightest bit drunk from so little.

Harry decided to explain his action, even of it was a bit funny to see Hagrid look so confused "I'm sorry if I didn't explain myself. You see, I'm here for the DADA teaching position, and in a couple of hours I'll meet with the Headmaster. I saw you here and knowing that you are the Keeper of the Keys, I decided to ask you about the castle. I don't know if I'll get the position, but I sure hope so"

"You're da one of ta poor Nundu!" Finally, blurted out Hagrid. He seemed even more confused than before, the poor man.

To Harry's chagrin, the few patrons in the pub turned all to face him. A couple, more adventurous ones approached him and shook his hand, spewing platitudes. As it seemed that everyone would head to their table, Rosmerta had enough "LEAVE THAT POOR MAN ALONE!" she yelled, placing the glass she was cleaning one the counter, before starting to disperse the crowd. She smiled apologetically at Harry "I'm sorry for that, but be reassured that it won't happen again!"

Harry grinned at her, eliciting a small blush. She left with a smile and a sway in her hips. He turned to Hagrid, who had the grace to look a bit abashed.

"Sorry, shouldan had don dat. I'm jus a bit on ta edge, I guess. A friend of mine isn replyin' to me letters" the half-giant apologized, eliciting an inward groan from Harry. He had forgotten that Debby took his letters! He would have to see about doing something for _that._

Harry shook his head smiling to show that he wasn't angry "Don't worry about it, I'm kinda used to it these days".

"But I'm sure yer gonna be a wonderful teach, eh Harry!" Hagrid said, looking excited again.

"I sure hope so! I'll certainly give it my all" was the young adventurer's reply. They took their time to talk a bit about Hogwarts in general, the houses, the students (pay attention ta the Slytherin! And 'em Wesley twins!), the professors (they'r all of a good sort! Snape's a bit grumpy, but dun worreh bout im, he's like da' with evr'one!) and the grounds (we got te onle Thestral herd in UK, true beauties, and very misunderstood too!) until it was rapidly approaching time for Harry to have his interview.

He wasn't surprised that it would happen in the castle, as he knew that after Trelawney's interview at the Hog's Head, Dumbledore had decided not to take any chances and have them in a warded office inside the castle.

As he said he had to start walking to the castle, Hagrid offered to accompany him immediately. Harry put a galleon on the table to cover for their expenses and a bit more, and with a salute to Rosmerta, they were off to Hogwarts.

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Albus Dumbledore was prepared to spend another summer to find someone to fill the DADA position for the next year, hopefully someone without Voldemort's head sticking behind his own.

He greeted his long-time friend Fawkes, who trilled musically in response.

He had sent the yearly notice for the Daily Prophet, in hope of finding someone willing to fill in the cursed position. As it was, he really didn't have much hope for it.

Which was why he was so surprised when a Great Horned Owl flew down from the owl's entrance and headed towards him, bearing a reply for his notice. Even better, it was from an acclaimed Master in the field, with at least a few years of hands on knowledge!

It could honestly be said that he was ecstatic, but Albus Dumbledore hadn't reached where he was today by being careless and naïve.

Therefore, he immediately started to wonder about the motivations Harrison Fleamont could have for wanting to teach DADA at Hogwarts, a position notorious for his 'bad luck'.

He didn't know the young man very well, at least personally, but when he appeared out of the blue a couple of years ago, becoming one of the youngest and most promising Masters in the world, he had made sure to search for every tiny bit of info he could find.

It was surprisingly easy, apparently many people knew him, or at the very least of him. Homeschooled child of a very cautious family, he had obtained great grades at his examinations, establishing the new DADA record in the ICW. The few times he had met him at the Council, he had seemed level-headed and respectful, a far cry from many other new young Masters, who felt as if they were entitled everything and were the only repository of knowledge, the arrogant fools.

He was apparently a fine young man, if a bit reserved. Well, Albus could get on with that. He really needed a bit of a breather, and having a great teacher for his most troublesome subject would go a long way for it, considering that he was sure that Lucius Malfoy was preparing some kind of underhanded move.

He asked Minerva, his old student, to receive their guest, a promising applicant for the DADA position. His only answer at his startled look, so similar to a wide-eyed cat, was a chuckle. He left the Great Hall humming softly, with a renewed twinkle in his eyes.

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Harry and Hagrid arrived at the castle's gate in a cheerful mood, swapping stories about totally non-dangerous and perfectly harmless animals they had met.

They were met by a stoic Minerva McGonagall, who's raised eyebrow was the only reaction at hearing Harry describe his meeting with a Tebo, an ash coloured warthog, native of Congo and Zaire, during an expedition in the area.

Despite his excitement at finding a fellow magical creature expert, Hagrid refrained from asking more in front of the stern Deputy Headmistress. He cleared his throat awkwardly and introduced each other "Professor McGonagall, this here is meh friend Harrison, he told meh he wanted ta teach DADA here at Hogwarts heh!"

Harry smiled to the witch and nodded his head in greeting "Harrison Fleamont, ma'am. Like Hagrid said, I'm applying for the Defense teaching position"

The professor introduced herself and explained to him that he would be interviewed by herself and the Headmaster. After waving Hagrid off, along with a promise of a more thorough discussion, whatever the result of his interview may be, even if he knew perfectly well that if they were desperate enough to hire Lockhart, he wouldn't have to worry.

They walked in silence until they had arrived in front of an ornate door, which, Harry could feel, was heavily warded against snoopers or spell-fire.

"Wait here, Mr. Fleamont. I shall inform the Headmaster first, and once we are ready, you will be called in" She explained, before leaving the Chamber.

Harry had an odd sense of deja-vu, feeling as if he was an ickle firstie about to be sorted.

"Come in" said a sharp voice from the inside. As he walked through a pair of double doors, he took notice of everyone and everything in the room, even the disillusioned Potion Master near the left corner of the room. As his eyes passed and briefly paused over the almost unnoticeable shimmer in the air, he felt as if he could see the sneer forming on the dour man's face.

He nodded his head in greeting with a small smile to Dumbledore, who sat of a comfy-looking purple armchair "Headmaster, good morning"

"Ahh, Master Fleamont, do come in and sit down. I was most surprised when an envelope delivered from a very peculiar owl was deposited in my hands this morning, while I was breaking my fast" the old man said, nodding back in greeting, obviously fishing for informations.

"I like teaching, I find it comes easily to me, and enjoy the sense of accomplishment when my pupils understand a previously obscure concept" Harry started explaining, reclining back in the wooden chair where he had plopped "I liked it with the Curse-Breakers I accompanied in my travels, but I find that doing so with an already formed mind doesn't give the most fruits" he continued.

Professor McGonagall had a look of understanding, even while trying to maintain an impassible look on her face.

"I also freely admit to liking a challenge, and I find that holding a cursed position is exactly what I like" Harry finished with a grin, reminding of all three teachers of various Potters. He was somehow related to them, they rationalized, raging from fondness to disgust.

The Supreme Mugwump nodded, eyes twinkling in full blast "I see, to be young and daring again!" he chuckled a bit "I know for certain that you are more than competent already, Donatella Pamphili was very vocal in praising you, I believe"

Harry smiled, remembering the stern examiner he had dueled against. It was good to know that he had an ally in the ICW at least.

"And the Daily Prophet would eat us alive if we didn't accept your application, I believe" was McGonagall wry answer.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together and concluded "Well, we have examined your C.V. and you seem to fit what we were looking for in a DADA teacher. I officially accept you as the Defense Professor". Then he became serious, for once allowing his expression and the oppressive feel of his magic to show why he was considered the most powerful wizard in the world "A word of advice, while I'm sure there will not be any problems, the children are our highest priority. You would do well to keep that in mind"

As the last wisp of power faded, Harry smiled calmly, showing himself completely unaffected "Don't worry Headmaster, I shall do my very best. You won't see any kind of problem from me"

He then stood up, nodded to the three teachers, and exited the chamber. He would treat himself with a fancy lunch in Muggle London, he decided.

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Once Harry had gone out of hearing range, the Potion Master allowed the charm that kept him invisible to fade, and turned to the older two with a raised eyebrow.

Dumbledore chuckled slightly at the sight, before explaining "I am certain that he has the best intentions at hearth, and even more that he is perfectly qualified for the job, I've seen the memory of his Mastery exam, but it is best not to take any chances".

McGonagall nodded in agreement with the assessment "I feel as if a young but experienced Fleamont Potter sat in front of us, Albus. I think we can cautiously relax. And, if he manages to dispel the curse on the position, even better, I say".

Snape sneered at the mere mention of the hated surname, but he didn't deny the feel of competence and candour the young DADA Master gave off. At the very least, he wouldn't be worse than the bumbling fool Quirrell.

The three dispersed, all leaving to start their own summer with a lighter heart.

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Privet was as boring and monotonous as always, but Harry didn't pay it any mind. He wasn't here to observe the carefully trimmed lawns or gossip about that shameless Mrs.9 who called the plumber when home alone and offered him tea without chaperone.

No. 4 looked the perfect house for a proper English family, as if the occupants hadn't left a little boy sleep on a cot in a cupboard for years. It was truly ironic. But he wasn't here to exact vengeance either.

He felt more than saw the movement of something small in the painstakingly cared rose bushes.

Under his Cloak, he didn't fear being discovered. With a small flash of red, the letter-thief was down for the count.

Dobby looked ill-treated and underfed, so much so that Harry felt his chest constrict in anger and pity.

He fed the elf a few drops of Draught of the Living Death, putting it into the deepest sleep. He would find a way to break the bond between his friend's counterpart and the Malfoy family, but for now he needed that kind of player out of the way.

Revenge would come when best served, as a cold dish.

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 ** _Finally done!_**

 ** _I feel like this chapter, while a bit slow, was necessary for the story._**

 ** _Next one will be about preparation for the school year and the first week!_**

 ** _Thanks for the Follows, Favorites and reviews, which are always nice to get_**

 ** _I'm starting to write ch. 6 immediately, so between tomorrow evening and the day after tomorrow, it'll be up._**

 ** _See ya next time_**


	6. Chapter 6 The first week

**MoD - Master of Defense**

Ch.6

As it was, without Dobby's interference the younger Harry managed to get through the summer holidays without much problem. A few days after his birthday he took the Knight Bus, which the Weasleys had explained how to call and how it worked.

He still got lost in Knockturn Alley and overheard the elder Malfoy's shady dealings, but this time he wasn't manhandled by Lockhart to obtain a front page. Flourish & Blotts was as full as normal for the day after the arrival of Hogwarts' letters, which unfortunately granted Lucius Malfoy the cover to slip Tom Riddle's diary in Ginny Weasley's cauldron.

Harry and the Weasleys bought the necessities for the coming year, which included a newly edited and updated edition of Arsenius Jigger's _The Essential Defense against the Dark Arts._ Listening to the Weasley parents' comments, it seemed that they might have a decent DADA teacher this year. Harry truly hoped so, as it was the subject he liked the most and that came the easiest to him.

Hermione seemed very excited, and almost vibrated with energy at the thought of a proper instruction in the subject when he voiced his thoughts. Ron groaned loudly, having enjoyed the lighter workload, which earned him a clip round the ear from his mother.

Harry just hoped to have a normal year this time.

Oh sweet summer child.

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From his hidden spot on Platform 9 3/4 Harry checked that everything went smoothly with the departure, just to make sure. As the last red-head boarded the train, the traveler allowed himself to relax a bit.

He was sure that, with Dobby out of the way, there wouldn't be any problem, but it was better to always be certain, otherwise these things would come later to bite you in the ass.

Harry apparated back in Hogsmeade, where he entered the Three Broomsticks and ordered a brunch, while checking his lesson plans. Honestly, the first thing to do would be eliminate as many misunderstandings and fake facts as possible, as they only grew to hamper the potential of young wizards and witches. Ron's plight in Auror training came to mind, as he was raised to think that Light and Dark magic where unequivocally absolute and one meant good and the other evil. There were many Dark spells that were necessary for an Auror to know. Not to mention the fight he had with Bill once he found out just how much the eldest Weasley brother could perform of Dark magic.

It took him a couple years to become comfortable enough to try to cast even just a Dark Cutter. That wasn't to say it was completely his fault, as Molly had harped about it for years. Bill and Charlie were independent enough to understand that there was a time and place for everything, and if used with moderation even Dark Magic could have its uses. Obviously there were some magicks so wicked that warped and twisted the soul, and one must always steer clear of those.

Therefore, Harry decided to start working on mental flexibility and will-power with the first three years and expand slowly the mentality of the older students.

There were so many misconceptions about magic in general that many professors didn't even notice, merely thinking that a student who couldn't cast a determinate spell wasn't applying himself enough. For the love of Merlin, he himself didn't even know why most of the spells used in Europe where in a language reminiscent of Latin until his third year of Auror training. It would have taken a decent teacher fifteen minutes to explain that just like the Romanic languages, the magical Latin changed slowly through time, and each incantation was simply the shortened ritual to call forth magic in fixed shapes and with certain effects.

These concepts were sometimes taught in old pureblood families, or sometimes wizards and witches picked them up along the way. It was truly a travesty to go through seven years at Hogwarts and not to know why magic worked in certain ways. He would need to rectify that.

As the day progressed, Harry started preparing for the second part of his plan for the day. He knew for certain that the wards to stop cursed items from passing through the Hogwarts' protections were tampered with.

During the rebuilding effort, he had helped Bill and Flitwick to cast new ones on the base of the old ones and they had been outraged to find them to be muted, only stopping the most obvious artefacts.

They suspected a few of the old Headmasters, but the portraits were of no help, as they couldn't recall the whole life of their originals.

Phineas Nigellus Black was on top of the list, alongside Elizabeth Burke, another blood-purist who served as Headmistress.

He had asked for Dumbledore's authorisation to check upon those specific wards, and had 'accidentally' found the holes in the wards. The Chief Warlock had been enraged to find it was so, and immediately set upon patching the faulty ones.

His job was to make sure that no one made a commotion if their objects were held back. Harry honestly thought that they wouldn't find much, as these years of peace weren't conductive of Dark activity. It was, however, best not to leave anything to chance.

As the Express pulled into Hogsmeade' s station, Harry steeled himself: if anyone made problems, he would have to act quickly and prevent heated confrontations, but the bulk of the work would still be done by the head of houses. They were the ones the students stupid enough to admit they had any dangerous items in their trunk would go to.

Harry had wanted to spread the appropriate spells all around Hogwarts, but with so little time only the carriages were protected.

It would all need to be handled carefully, so as not to step on too many toes, while keeping a stern policy of no-allowances made.

The mass of teenagers streamed towards either the carriages or the boats, if first years. He noticed a couple of Slytherin Sixth year, a Ravenclaw Seventh and two Gryffindors Sixth years who looked confused by their suddenly lighter bags when they passed through the spells around the carriages.

The wards warped space and removed any offending objects, sending them directly in a sealed chamber that would be inspected by specifically trained DMLE workers and action would be taken in a couple of days, if administrative or legal, it would need to be seen.

Those few who felt their items disappear where, thankfully, smart enough to avoid making a scene and calling attention to themselves, apart from one of the Gryffindor Sixth years, who Harry recognized to be Andrew Owly, a brash idiot who thought himself to be superior to everyone. He remembered him to be the one who sealed the common baths every time he took a shower because he needed private space for himself, and then walking starkers across the male dorms, as if he had something to flaunt.

A colourless overpowered Calming Charm was enough to stop his shouts. Harry would see to do something about him later.

The young traveler checked for the last time that everything was all right and then went back to the castle, riding his new Nimbus 2000 (Harry had decided to treat himself in this universe. So sue him!)

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As Ginevra Weasley got sorted into Gryffindor, the Headmaster called for the feast to start, while warning that he had important announcements to make, with an unusually stern face.

This set off a curious chatter all around the hall. Considering the addition to the Head table, a notorious adventurer who had become very popular a couple years ago, the students were understandably eager for informations.

Once the desserts were finished and the tables cleared by elven magic, the Headmaster stood up, gathering everyone's attention.

"Attention everyone! I have a few important announcements to make" the old man started gravely " In primis, I would like everyone to greet our newest addition to the Staff: Harrison Fleamont. Professor Fleamont, as you might have guessed, will be in charge of the DADA course. He is one of the foremost Master in the subject, hence we can expect to be enlightened by his knowledge".

While he called Harry's name, the Great Hall, which was already filled with a soft buzz, exploded in cheers. Many knew of him through his adventures which were unfailingly reported on the Daily Prophet. A few girls blushed at the sight of him, and many males seemed energized from the chance to learn from an accomplished adventurer. That he seemed not to care for his fame and success quelled any kind of jealousy.

From the High Table, Harry waved to the students, noticing many confused frowns between the younger years, probably muggle-borns. He saw Hermione's face flushed with excitement as she animately explained to the younger Harry why _he_ was such a big deal. He should have known that Hermione would already know about him, even if she was a muggle-born. And as the Trio turned to look at him- oh god why was she looking at him so adoringly- oh fuck she had a crush on him, crap!

Harry hurriedly turned his head around, resolutely ignoring what he had just learned.

Dumbledore waited a couple more seconds before raising his hands and calling for silence "There is a second announcement I must make, and it is with a heavy heart that I confess to you that during preliminary inspections of the protections surrounding the castle, many were found modified or outright inactive. They mostly concerned the passage of cursed items into the castle. Thanks to our Staff's efforts the wards have been strengthened again and are in working order".

Many in the halls were shocked by the news, and the elder students started explaining to the younger ones the meaning of such a thing. A select few broke a sweat, now understanding what it was that happened when they were boarding the carriages. For centuries students had done more or less what they wanted to, regarding such things. Many letters would depart that evening from the castle to explain what had occurred.

The Headmaster seemed very grave, as if disappointed that this even had to occur. He let his gave sweep once more through the hall, memorizing those who seemed the most guilty.

"Hogwarts is now safer than ever before and I must warn you. It is my duty as Headmaster to protect everyone residing in the castle, and I will not hesitate to do so if the need will arise; that means even from the inside" Dumbledore finished, before regaining a bit of his customary cheer and giving the usual start-of-year notice concerning Filch's ever-expanding list of banned items and reiterating that the Forest was indeed still Forbidden.

Harry didn't doubt that the event of the night would immediately reach many parents by tomorrow morning. It wasn't like even the staunchest purebloods could do much, but it would serve to make them warier.

Indeed, things had just started changing, a small, almost irrelevant event, that would signify much much more.

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September 2nd was always a slow day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, given that the student body was still suffering of summer laziness. Every professor worth their salt knew not to ask too much of their charges.

The only exception to such was the first years, as they were extremely excited by this new world of magic, be it muggle-borns or pure-bloods.

Therefore, Harry decided not to come too hard on the poor, unsuspecting children.

Classroom 3C, also known to be the DADA classroom, had been subject to many changes by Harry. Firstly, he had enchanted the windows to always give enough light for the students not to force their eyes, unless he wanted a different atmosphere; Secondly, Harry had added, by his own expenses, a portable dueling platform. There was a last addition to the classroom. Locked in an enchanted cupboard, there were forty ballistic dummies. They had been charmed with a couple special spells that Hermione had created for himself in his world when he complained to her about the antiquated Auror Training dummies.

As they were already designed to react as a human body to any hit they received, the only modifications to be done where to animate them enough to have magic recognize them as 'alive', giving them more or less a numbed plant status since many spells only worked for live targets, one to show the internal effects spells had on the body clearly and the last self-repairing spell.

They were extremely appreciated in the DMLE and his friend had made a lot of money with this new creation, which she immediately invested either in the stock market or in new projects. Hermione would be Hermione.

Harry had learned from her how to make them, and decided that being capable of using their spells freely would both help the students and scare them away from the more wicked representation of magic.

As the first year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw trailed inside the classroom, Harry sighed internally in defeat when the temporary wards he had detected on the entrance's door didn't reveal the bloody diary horcrux.

Harry had wanted to get the thing out of the way before it could start making problems, but it seemed as if Ginny Weasley didn't take it out of the tower too much, and had even brought it with herself last night on the boats, so that the newly reinstated wards couldn't block it.

Sneaking into the girls' dorm, especially the first year girls didn't sound like a great idea at all. He didn't need that kind of accusations to start, and the enchanted stairway would stop any kind of obscure methods.

The newly minted DADA Professor shook his head and focused on his young charges. The look of excitement and hope brought a smile on his face, he was honestly happy to be able to teach again.

"Good morning everyone! As you might remember from yesterday, I'm your Professor of Defense against the Dark Arts. You might have been too stuffed and sleepy to recall it, so I'm introducing myself again" Harry spoke, strolling in the front of the classroom, his voice clearly audible in every corner.

As the students chuckled, he turned to face them completely "My name is Harrison Ulysses Fleamont, I unfortunately didn't attend Hogwarts because of the war" Harry paused a second, licking his lips "I obtained my Defense Mastery a few years ago, and have since traveled the world alongside a crew of Curse-Breakers to obtain more hands-on experience, even if the order of the two actions is usually reversed".

The young traveler saw the awed looks and those of dreaminess. He smiled widely, showing his white teeth, and gestured with a hand in a downward motion. As a consequence, the lights in the room dimmed a bit, giving it a more intimate vibe.

"During this year I will teach you how to recognize danger at first sight, how to save yourself from dire situations and if you will work diligently, I will instruct you with a wider range of magicks than normal"

The students were totally captivated; he saw Morag McDougal trembling with excitement at learning more than she normally could, Colin Creevey squeaked at the thought of facing danger, Luna Lovegood smiled dreamily and the youngest Weasley had a fire in her eyes that Harry was familiar with.

"I'm here to instruct you not to turn away any kind of help, as it may save your life in the future; I will explain to you how deep humanity has sunk and how far we have gone to protect ourselves from the unearthed horrors" Harry slowly allowed the light to fill the classroom again, but this time coming from behind, giving him a kind of halo.

He was lying it a bit thickly, but he always had an unresolved sense of drama. He opened his arms, smiling calmly at everyone.

With a wave of his hands, the desks and chairs stacked themselves near the left wall. Gasps broke out at the casual usage of Wandless magic, reputed to be impossible for all but the very best.

 _Honestly_ , Harry thought, _it's not that hard. It just requires a lot of will-power. Which also may be the problem, thinking back on it._

The Potter knew very well that most accomplished wizards and witches could at the very least summon their wands back wandlessly, but they tried to keep it as secret weapon in time of need.

Harry was reckless and a bit crazy, and had long decided that he wouldn't hide any part of himself if possible, what with already having to hide that Master of Death business, and wanted to take down his enemies in the most upfront way.

Once everyone was standing, Harry gathered the students' attention again "Very well, now that everyone is standing, wands out!"

Ha had decided to make half of his lessons theoretical, as it was necessary to know the subject in depth to attempt mastering it, however boring, and half practical, starting from the Spark Spell and Klaxon Charm. They seemed useless spells, but for a defenceless firstie they may make the difference between life and death if they managed to call attention to themselves.

Harry made everyone stand facing the wall, which was now humming softly with magic, as the protective wards were up. Who knew what improperly channelled magic could do!

The rest of the lesson went smoothly once he had explained exactly why they needed to learn those two charms. They all went a bit green at the thought of being cornered by adults with bad intentions, and gave it their all.

As the classroom emptied, Harry thought back on his to-do list.

He had to get the diary from Ginny as fast as possible, which would start the chain of events needed to unearth the various horcruxes, and he would need to arrange for Luna not to be bullied; he had to take care of the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets and search for the Curse on the DADA position; Lucius Malfoy would be a hindrance this year, but he was confident enough that with the Headmaster's help they could marginalize him; Dobby's situation would need to be solved too and finally he would need to continue his own personal training, he wasn't yet at Voldemort's level, and it might be needed for him to take the matter completely in his hands. It was also a matter of pride.

Harry felt that while it was much, he could take on this new challenge.

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Hermione had been bouncing with excitement ever since the Sorting Feast, when the Headmaster had presented their newest DADA Teacher. Ron swore that the twins were already starting bets on how Professor Fleamont would leave the position. Apparently, every one of those who held the Defense position only lasted one year ever since 1957. No one knew why this was, but many thought it was Voldemort's doing.

Harry hoped to at least learn something useful this year. Quirrell, while having the most powerful Dark Wizard in centuries on the back of his head had been remarkably useless. On the other hand, it was probably the whole point.

Yesterday had confirmed to the young Potter that not much had changed during the summer at Hogwarts, aside from those protections against Dark Artefacts being raised again: Snape still hated him with all his might, McGonagall was her usual strict self, Flitwick had cheerfully started them on a first-year revision and Sprout was happily presenting them with ever increasingly dangerous plants.

The first and fourth years had lessons with Fleamont yesterday, and were all very excited about it. Apparently the new Professor was a powerful wizard who gave them the tools to discern bad from good and guided them more than instructed them and wasn't afraid of teaching non conventional magic. Apparently learning how to conjure small balls of lighting wasn't usually done until sixth year, but Malcolm Derrick, a fourth year Gryffindor, had explained that Professor Fleamont had made sure to start small, to make sure not to hurt each other and had shown them on a special training dummy the degrees of damage such spells could create. The smell of burning flesh had been enough of a deterrent to stop everyone to do anything stupid.

The Gryffindor second year trudged through the corridors, shaking away the sleep while excitement started to creep in.

As they neared the DADA classroom, they met with the Hufflepuff. Harry saw Parvati say hello to Leanne and Megan Jones, while Neville greeted Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott, who returned it with a smile.

He didn't know that his house-mates had made connections out of Gryffindor, and indeed Harry saw the small look of surprise on Hermione's face. Last year had been a bit hectic, what with the Philosopher's Stone debacle, and non of the Trio had really thought about expanding their circle.

They entered the surprisingly luminous classroom and saw their newest Professor standing in front of his desk with a small smile on his face.

Harry observed this Harrison Fleamont, and decided that he could tentatively lower his wariness. At the very least, his scar didn't react to the man's presence.

"Good morning to all of you and welcome to Defense against the Dark Arts. I'm Harrison Fleamont and you will address me as Professor or Professor Fleamont. As you must know already, no doubt thanks to the famous Hogwarts' rumour mill, if not from today's Daily Prophet which had a field day, I have a very hands on approach to my subject"

Harry sat forward in excitement, he would finally learn something other than the Smokescreen Spell in DADA!

"That is not to say that we will not touch the theory, as our hours together will be divided evenly between the two, but many things are better seen and done by oneself than heard of. The first semester will be all about awareness and preventive spells, such as revealing charms and medium-term jinxes and hexes, apart from the normal study of XX and XXX creatures"

The whole class seemed to be divided between happiness that they would learn something cool and despair that they hadn't evaded the theoretical work.

Fleamont continued on, purposely ignoring the few mutterings "Today, though, I have decided to treat you a bit. I have a system for which I always teach everything required on the curriculum and add a few, more interesting things as a prize for talented and hard-working classes".

While he spoke, Hermione's grin threatened to split her face at the promise of more and useful knowledge, and she shot Harry and Ron a _look_ that promised paid if they dared prevent her to obtain it with their lazing around.

"Today, as a first-day present, you will learn the ever useful Disarming Charm, which is usually taught at the end of the year. If I am satisfied, I shall start you on Water manipulation, the easiest of the elements, later on" The man said with a smile.

Harry grinned, he could get on board with that!

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In a shadowed corner of the second floor, a young girl with fiery red hair walked with confident steps and a superior attitude that clashed with her figure.

As she passed by a window, the light showed her face, red eyes gleaming maliciously.

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 ** _DOOOONEEEEE!_**

 ** _I like this chapter, I'm happy with it. It is the start of the actual plot for the years to come, and therefore I worked hard on it. I hope you guys like it!_**

 ** _It was pointed out to me that there are many spelling errors in my fic, and I tried to correct all which I could find._**

 ** _I'll try to do my best and check thoroughly!_**

 ** _Thanks for the reviews, much appreciated, and your Favorites and Follows._**

 ** _I have to start the next chapter yet, but I have it outlined, so I'll post it in a couple of days._**

 ** _See ya next time!_**


	7. Chapter 7 Solutions and Worries

**MoD - Master of Defense**

Ch.7

It was the first week of October, classes were going well and Professor Fleamont, once the novelty and hero-worship had calmed down, was quickly becoming one of the most liked.

He was a fun guy, as demonstrated by how he graciously accepted the pranks he was subjected to, and even retaliated! The Weasley Twins had by now a healthy fear of the colour ochre. They never got around to explaining why.

Harry had worked tirelessly in the month since the Start of Term; he may still have that habit to try to solve everything as he did in his youth, which is why everyone from second year up was practising the basics spells of Defense again. The first year had to work on mundane dangers and general awareness, even if he did teach them a couple of spells every fortnight. It was a travesty that OWL and NEWT students couldn't cast the basic four (Protect Stun Disarm Distance).

He was honestly appalled. There were a few students that were convinced that magical power was determined from birth thanks to some kind of magical core, an absurd notion if there was ever one. He had berated Flitwick and McGonagall, as the teachers of the core wand-subject, for that: leaving such credences to go uncorrected was what ended up giving life to Pureblood Supremacism.

Harry made sure to have a lesson with every single class to explain how magic interacted with humans and what magical prowess actually was.

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 _"It has come to my attention that there are many misconceptions between the students about the nature of magic. I have decided to take it upon myself to clear as many of them as possible" Harry spoke softly, his voice smooth._

 _This was his sixth year NEWT class, what should have comprised only the most talented. Of course, because of the discontinuous teaching of Defense the grades had to be adjusted and therefore many students could barely produce a solid shield._

 _Harry walked between the desks, the enchantments in the classroom making sure he was heard regardless of his position "I won't start a philosophical debate with you today" he continued, to the relief of a few "I shall explain to you all what little we understand of the reality changing force that is magic thanks to observation, trial and error for thousands of years. Magic is, quite simply, the exception to every rule of nature; it is one of the primordial energies that composed the universe at his birth"._

 _As he said this, Harry drew his wand, and thanks to a bit of fancy spell-work the walls, floor and ceiling of the classroom resembled the outer space "The universe is vast and unexplored by the likes of us humans. We should not be arrogant enough to believe it to be an open book: many are the mysteries that humanity cannot hope to comprehend"_

 _With another practised flick, the scenery changed back to the classroom, leaving awed students. Before they could regain their senses, Harry flooded the room with pure unaltered magic, making everyone feel dazed by the sheer amount. It was a bit of a dirty trick, as he merely guided the natural magic of Hogwarts to condense in the room, but he was a bit of a showman. He let go of it, allowing it to return to its mysterious patterns._

 _"Then why, you may ask, are we able to wield this immense power as if it was natural? Unfortunately, the specifics of such are still unknown, but many speculations have a few humans that had lived near a particularly strong source of natural magic to have developed a 'sense' for it. It would have, with time, changed in what we know today as the ability to wield magic"._

 _There were many nods, but a few looked confused._

 _"Professor, why are there a few wizards of such power then?" Asked Matilda Smith, a Hufflepuff. Her classmates made murmurs of agreement, thinking about Dumbledore and Voldemort, a few even of their Professor._

 _Harry's lips stretched wide, like a cat who ate a canary "Now that is the burning question, isn't it? Why do a few gifted manage to become so powerful. To understand this, we have to take a step back. Basically, magicals interact with the omnipresent magic, as it's a figment of the universe's reality, and use it for numerous purposes. Magical 'power' is in reality the ability to manipulate this primordial force. The more one understands it, the more one uses it, the more one's body is capable of sustaining the effort, the more one is 'powerful'"._

 _The Professor gave his students a few moments to process it all, and was rewarded when everyone started to get it. Harry smiled and decided to simplify it even further, for the sake of the few hard-headed ones "In the end, it all comes down to how much you know about how the spell works, how much in tune with magic you are, how fit you are and how much practice you have. Think of your magical ability as a muscle. It is the brain which gives you the order to move, and the more you have exercised it, the more strength it will produce; if you know how to do the task at hand well, you'll be able to minimize the effort. It's as simple as that" he continued, staring in the distance and thinking about how much easier his life would have been if he had a proper magical education._

 _Harry shook his head and decided to wrap things up "It is true that a few are born either more in tune with magic, or more talented in a determined field, but it is the same with physical constitution. Muscles can be built, and so can magical skill, one has only to have the dedication for it"._

 _His students smiled, happy to be told for once that they could actually reach what would have been a fool's dream before. Harry had even made sure not to stomp too much on the pureblood's feet. That was a battle of cunning which must be fought in the shadows, to slowly acclimate those students to a more moderate view without them noticing._

 _The Sorting Hat wanted to put him in Slytherin after all._

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Headmaster Dumbledore greeted his Staff with a smile as they trailed inside the Teachers' Hall for the monthly Staff Meeting.

Once Professor Sinistra had arrived from her tower, Albus gestured with his hand and the door closed itself, the privacy enchantments going up.

He smiled genially to his friends and colleagues, hoping to hear only good news but not hoping too much. It was, after all, the first meeting since the Summer, and many a problem emerged in this month.

Dumbledore motioned for Minerva McGonagall to proceed, and the Transfiguration Professor cleared her throat "Good afternoon to you all, we are here for the first Staff Meeting of the year". Her eyes swept disapprovingly over the empty spot of Sybill Trelawney and on the faint smirks of Filius and Harrison' s faces.

"We shall address the more pushing problems first, as always, and then review any irregularity form seventh year downwards for each house" the stern professor began.

"I believe it is time to obtain a new set of brooms for the flying classes. I wouldn't be surprised if the next year someone broke his neck! This is the third year consecutively that at least a student's broom goes haywire!" Hooch's heated protest was met with agreeing nods and noises. Everyone knew that it was indecent to have equipment that run-down, but the Board of Governors was the one to control the money, and they had refused time and again to spend any money for it.

"Rolanda, I shall try to make your point with the Board, but we both know that it would be best not to raise your expectations" explained kindly the Headmaster, fully aware that something should have been done years ago, but unable to help too much. Both he and Flitwick had tinkered a bit with the school's brooms, but they were truly at their end nowadays.

Snape was too dignified to roll his eyes at the age-old argument, but he too, felt that the issue had to find a solution.

The smooth voice of Professor Fleamont interrupted everyone thoughts "Perhaps, a sponsorship could be organized" the man said.

Harry could already see the gears in their mind starting to work at full force, and the indignation rising in a few of them.

"I'm not denouncing the famed independence of the school, but I seem to understand that we are faced with a choice. A choice between pride and duty, between technicalities and the safety of students".

That stilted any opposition. It was obvious that every teacher present wanted the students to be safe, even the dungeon's bat, and such a proposition, while hard on the pride, would mean the lowering of flying-related accidents.

Madam Pomfrey nodded approvingly, being the one to patch up the injured teens "It seems a very sensible proposition, I approve".

The diminutive Charm's Professor took a resolute look, evidently having come to a definitive position "The idea has its merits, and should not be dismissed even if we decide not to go through with it. We could use it as leverage with the Board".

McGonagall took a shocked look, before she grinned a smile full of teeth. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled madly and his moustache twitched, signalling his great amusement "I believe that with a bit of refinement, the idea will have its merit" the old man chuckled.

Harry decided to be truthful about his talks with the students and his beliefs on teaching "I have something of note to discuss too".

He took notice of the glances the Head of Houses and the Headmaster gave each other while trying to be subtle. Honestly, it was like watching twelve years old play at spies.

"I have started a program in all my classes to make up for the lost time of the past years. Almost every student, ranging between the years, lacks basic understanding of the nature of magic, and such a thing, if left alone, will cause no small problems. Because of such, I will need to cut off a few minor things in the program I prepared" Harry explained gravely.

A few of the professors looked confused, but the Masters had understood his meaning. Dumbledore steeped his fingers together in front of his face, and hummed thoughtfully.

It was, surprisingly, Snape who answered his subtle accuse "It is unfortunate that we are unable to teach the more subtle and fundamental theories regarding magic to our students, but the school does not impart knowledge for its sake, but for its usefulness in later life. Many students do not continue their education post-Hogwarts, and we need to make sure that they know how to react to every situation".

Harry inclined his head, making his agreement known. He hadn't considered that many witches and wizards contented themselves with being mediocre, and the teachers could only do so much to stimulate them.

The meeting then continued as was normal, with talks of unruly students and personal digs. All in all, Harry thought that it was a fruitful one.

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In front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, Harry scolded himself for not taking care of the Room of Requirement earlier. He had been swept by the novelty of teaching, and he got excited when he noticed that his methods were already having fruits.

He really needed to get his head straight: the Room of Hidden Things would be first, and Ginny an immediate second.

His friend Arsenius Jigger had written him a gloating letter detailing a fantastic discovery of the Head of the Peong family' tomb in China, which contained several scrolls on Battle Magicks. Apparently the man had been a natural at Animation and Transfiguration, and his earth golems were still active two thousands years after his death.

Harry felt a pang of jealousy for having missed such a thrilling adventure, but contented himself with the knowledge the Curse-Breaker had managed to send to him via Gringotts.

 _I need the Room of Hidden things. I need the Room of Hidden things. I need the Room of Hidden things._

As the door materialized, Harry smiled. Hermione and him had many times spent hours theorizing what secrets had been lost when Crabbe lighted it on a cursed fire. How much knowledge had been lost because of a foolish idiot. Well, at least now he could explore it at leisure.

The cathedral-looking hall extended itself over piles of junk and stuff. How many had lost their valuables? How much forbidden knowledge was hidden in this chamber?

With a grin, Harry started walking through the piles, after making sure that no one could enter. It took him only a couple of minutes to find the old mannequin bust where the Diadem of Ravenclaw was placed. An obscure and esoteric Detection Charm was enough to tell him that the Founder's relic was indeed cursed. He would need time to crack through the many Dark enchantments Tom Riddle had placed upon it, but Harry was confident that he would crack the thing, leaving it clear of all but the Horcrux. He could easily destroy it immediately, but the things he could learn from it were immense.

Donning his Dragon Hide gloves, the young traveler took it in hand, feeling the revolting taint, and hurriedly put it in an enchanted chest that would keep it sealed away. He shrunk the chest and put it in his pouch.

Strolling through the mountains of stuff, Harry noticed a few ancient looking books, but paid them no heed for the moment. He exited the Room of requirement, waiting for it to be closed. Once it had melted back into the wall, he walked three times in front of it with a clear thought in mind.

 _I need a Room with all the monies, the pouches containing any kind of currency and chests with precious stones and materials inside._

 _I need a Room with all the monies, the pouches containing any kind of currency and chests with precious stones and materials inside._

 _I need a Room with all the monies, the pouches containing any kind of currency and chests with precious stones and materials inside._

Harry checked with a wide-area revealing charm for anyone nearby and once satisfied, opened the ornate marble door and found himself in a treasury. A happy grin on his lips, the man set to empty it all.

Harry's findings were composed of a little more than six hundred thousands galleons in various coin's types divided between various pouches, two chests full of precious gems and a trunk full of gold bars.

He honestly didn't need this amount of gold, but leaving there would be a crime. He had decided early in his plotting that should he find anything (there was always the danger of the Room having been raided by a young Tom Riddle, but he guessed the young Dark Lord either hadn't thought that it could hold such a treasure, or hadn't discovered all the features of the room and had contented himself with what he could find via Summoning Charm) Harry would invest it in making this reality a better place. He would take everything else with him once he returned home, but this much he could do.

There was most likely even more, hidden somewhere in the Castle, but he still hadn't found it. Hogwarts predated Gringotts by more or less five hundred years, and they had to keep their galleons safe somehow. He would need to charm an empty chamber somewhere with a few ancient wards to simulate what could have been the Founders' Treasury.

Harry would then 'stumble' upon it once he felt the powerful wards leaking out of a fading concealment array and discover it. If he was lucky, he could make his contribute pass unnoticed thanks to the uproar that was sure to happen. Fortunately, the Founders' Treasury was under the Headmaster's rule, and nothing the Board of Governors could do would change that, seeing as that particular Institution was established about four hundred years ago, alongside the changes spurred by the Statute of Secrecy's introduction.

After he collected everything, Harry exited the Room once again, and paced in front of its entrance for a third time.

 _I need a Room with all the books, scrolls, diaries, grimoires and journals found in the RoHT. I need a Room with all the books, scrolls, diaries, grimoires and journals found in the RoHT. I need a Room with all the books, scrolls, diaries, grimoires and journals found in the RoHT._

As he visited the RoR for the final time that day, Harry smiled upon seeing the neat stacks.

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"Headmaster, I require your presence and that of the Senior Staff at once! I am in front of the seventh classroom of the sixth floor from the staircase in the east side".

As the Thestral Patronus of the Defense Professor faded into nothingness, Dumbledore and the Four Head of Houses looked at each other for a moment, before springing into motion.

It must have been something of the utmost importance for the perpetually calm Professor Fleamont to sound so agitated. Albus only hoped that he wouldn't need to find a new Teacher so early in the year.

The scene that greeted the five magicals was a bit underwhelming. The DADA Professor was leaning with his back on a wall, grinning madly.

With a flourish of his hand, Harry gestured towards the totally normal-looking abandoned classroom "Welcome Headmaster and Head of Houses. I present you the Founders' Treasury!".

Gasps erupted from the two witches and Flitwick squeaked. Snape merely raised an eyebrow, before snorting.

The Headmaster, instead, had closed his eyes and raised his right hand, as if feeling for something. Out of nowhere, he sucked a breath, his eyes opening wide; he too could feel the faint echo of ancient wards.

"We need to start working on this at once!" exclaimed the old man, his eyes twinkling with possibilities of real independence.

"Is it true? The Founders' Treasury? How in the name of Avalon did you fin it?!" asked a rather faint Sprout.

"The Castle is old and full of magical artefacts, many could pose a danger to the students. It is my duty as Defense Master of Hogwarts to make the place as safe as I can. I also wanted to find a few examples of old curses to dissect in my NEWT classes as a Curse-Breaking exercise" Harry replied with a faint smile.

"And that explains how you felt the whisper of ancient magic leaking from the Wards" continued Flitwick, having regained his composure.

Harry, Dumbledore and Flitwick got to work on the protections the DADA Professor had erected only a few hours before, and with a few bumps and twists managed to get through.

The treasure hidden in the chamber was gasp-worthy indeed, and with a couple of Goblin-made artefacts the Charms Professor had it was all estimated to amount to one million galleons. A truly enormous figure, that would serve to maintain excellent standards at Hogwarts for a couple of centuries by itself, if managed wisely.

Harry slyly suggested they hire a couple of muggle-borns that had returned to the Non-Magical World to study Management and Finance to govern the found and help the Headmaster with his spendings. Perhaps a clause to make sure that the only way to access the found would be to sign a magical contract to only use it for the good of the school and the student body.

The young Master garnered himself a few amused looks, but his 'suggestions' were quickly accepted, as they all could see the wisdom in it, even if the Professors had to haggle a bit with Snape to allow two muggle-borns alone to have all that influence.

Harry smiled secretly, his plans were only starting to shape and many pieces had still to fall in place, but in the chessboard now stood out a clear picture.

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A few days before Halloween Harry finally managed to get his hands on the Diary of Tom Riddle. The First Year Gryffindor - Ravenclaw class was trailing inside the room when the intent-based wards he erected every morning to specifically target malicious artefacts called his attention to one Ginevra Weasley.

Harry could admit to himself that he was starting to get very nervous when he couldn't find a way to remove the Horcrux from the littlest red-head, and a wave of relief swept through him.

He made sure nothing was out of normal during the lesson, an hour on the usefulness of school yard jinxes in actual duels, as they could rob the opponent of many appendages or even just distract him/her a bit, and one hour of practice of the Tongue-Tying Curse.

As the last minutes approached, Harry started giving back the essays he had the students write about Imps, keeping Ginny's in his hands.

The poor girl looked a bit confused, but when he asked her to stay back for a few questions he had on her work she nodded and remained sat as her class-mates trailed away.

Once Harry was sure that no one was near, he struck with lightning speed with a modified stunner, to impede anything but him to be able to wake her. He didn't want Tom Riddle to use her body as she was down, now did he.

The young Professor levitated the Cursed Diary and snapped a complex Japanese Sealing Spell, called the Seven-Trigram Seal, something he had learned for Kyoto's Onmyouji.

He then sent a hasty Patronus to the Headmaster and to Professor McGonagall, calling them for an emergency with one of the lions.

With a silent _Mobilicorpus_ Harry levitated the young girl and book encased in a silver light. He moved swiftly through the corridors, reaching in only a few minutes the Headmaster's Office.

The stone Gargoyle jumped to the side when he muttered the password, as usual a muggle candy a _Tronky._

"Come in Professor Fleamont" called Dumbledore's aged voice from the other side of the door. As he opened it, the two occupants drew a gasp at the sight of the young Master levitating the youngest Weasley and holding a book in some magical restraint.

"What has happened?!" exclaimed McGonagall, already moving toward her young charge.

Harry forestalled any action the two may have taken holding up a halting hand and started to explain.

"I always keep a few Detection Wards at the entrance of my Classroom, just to see if anything untoward is happening. Today, my spells told me that young Miss Weasley was being slowly possessed by this tainted artefact. I have immediately decided to isolate her from her year-mates while trying not to stir the object and have sealed the offending diary" Harry hastily explained, not wanting to get between The Lioness and one of her cubs.

Dumbledore nodded, face unusually grave, and called for McGonagall to take the Weasley to the Infirmary and alert her family. Once the two female were out of sight, the old man turned to him and motioned to continue.

Harry gave a faint smile before he too took a serious look and started explaining his 'findings' "I have only managed to get a superfluous read, as the artefact is protected quite thoroughly, but I suspect it to be one of Herpo's follies".

The Headmaster frowned a bit, before a look of horror and understanding appeared on his face. He whispered in disgust "A Horcrux".

"Yes, one of those vile things. I have contained with the strongest wanded seal I could put, but I fear that it won't be enough. Things like this have to be destroyed as the abominations that they are".

Dumbledore nodded, now examining the still floating Diary. Sorrow and pity welled up in his eyes once his suspicions were confirmed about its maker, and Harry pretended not to notice the way a few tears fell at the thought of what a most promising student, that could have been the future of the WIzarding World had reduced himself to.

With heavy thoughts in mind, the two men started discussing about how to destroy it and contain it until the moment they could find a way to annihilate it without risk.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

It was Halloween and Harry felt finally a bit relaxed. His work as a teacher was going very well, his plan to prepare the students and young Harry's friend in particular for what was to come too was at full steam ahead.

His happiness crashed all down when, once the Feats finished, screams of fear were heard from the second floor. There was no writing on the wall, but Mrs. Norris was still petrified.

A Basilisk was on the loose.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

 ** _FINALLY FINISHED!_**

 ** _I'm sorry it took so much to post, but this chapter would just let itself be written. Honestly._**

 ** _Yeaah, sorry bout that._**

 ** _Molly screeches and the Halloween day will be in flashbacks in the sequent chapters, don't worry._**

 ** _I'll try to post the next one in a couple of days, so don't fret, my friends._**

 ** _As always, thanks for Reviews, Favorites and Follows_**

 ** _See ya next time_**

 ** _J_**


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